Not Like Them
by Mysteryguy12
Summary: Sora, Riku...he's not like them. Not at all. He's different. But how? It's hard to tell. Either way, he's all she has for the moment. Why not stick around? Story about Seifer and Kairi. Is it gonna be a love story? Who knows. Read it and we'll see.
1. Twilight King

So I've been wanting to do a fic about Kairi for a while. I also just recently discovered that I want to do a fic about Seifer as well. So here's my stone. I'm aiming for two birds. Let's see how I do.

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Chapter 1

Twilight King

The King of Twilight Town.

That was what they called him. He ran the streets, made sure people stayed in line, kept people out of trouble, except when he brought it on himself. He was a leader, and they knew it. It was why so many people disliked him. They envied him. They wanted his strength, his intelligence, his ability to lead. But they didn't have it, so they hated him for it. Him, the King of Twilight Town.

Actually, the people who hated him didn't call him the King. They just called him Seifer. Only two people actually referred to him as the King, and to be honest, it was just a phase that they were all growing tired of rather quickly. Phases and names came and went as quickly as the sun did in this town. Especially during summer.

It was warm out, and the sun was beginning to set, throwing the sandlot into a purplish shadow that made the place glow in an almost mystical way. The King leaned casually against one of the walls, chewing on the remains of his popsicle stick and trying to look cool. He wasn't thinking about anything in particular, but he looked like he was concentrating very hard.

"Hey, Seifer?"

"King."

Seifer looked up from his daze at his two loyal followers. Rai looked embarrassed and Fuu was glaring at him hard enough to turn him to stone.

"Sorry, King. I forgot, ya know?"

With a sigh, Seifer pushed away from the wall and scratched his head.

"Forget it. Seifer sounds cooler anyway," he said with confident reserve. "What is it, Rai?"

"Well," the brawny Rai shuffled uncomfortably. "It's startin' to get dark, ya know? And my parents don't like it when I get home too late, ya know? So I was wonderin' if we could disband for the day…ya know?"

"Agree." Fuu's simplistic voice dropped into the conversation with all the tact of an anvil.

Seifer looked at Rai, and then at Fuu. They didn't need to ask his permission to go home. They were free to go whenever they wanted. But he had an image he needed to keep up.

"Alright, you're dismissed. Meet back here tomorrow at nine."

"Yes, sir!" came the reply in unison. The pair struck a swift salute before turning and running up the stairs leading out of the sandlot.

"See you guys tomorrow…" Seifer whispered, more to himself than anyone else.

The day had been exactly like the day before it, which, incidentally, had been exactly like the day before that. He had made a point to get his summer work done early on so that his teacher wouldn't give him crap about not handing it in like she did last year. He had done a good job, too. He had to write a fictional story involving some well known element of Twilight Town, so he had chosen to involve the clock tower.

He remembered when he finished writing it and was going over it for errors, the story had turned out to be pretty self reflective. It was the story of a boy who everyone thinks is a delinquent but in truth helps hold things together, just like how the clock helps everyone steer their lives in the right direction.

But now that he was done with his summer work and the struggle tournament was still a week away, Seifer was bored. He wondered briefly if Hayner and his crew might be hanging around anywhere at this hour, but quickly brushed away the notion. They were trouble makers, but they were punctual for their bedtimes. His mind drifted to Setzer. He was always up for a struggle match, but what was the point? Seifer always won. He had long since become the strongest fighter in Twilight Town. Well…among the permanent residents anyway.

It was during spring break, a few months ago, when that spiky headed kid had showed up. He didn't look like much, he was dressed in pretty ridiculous clothes and his shorts were way too short. There were two…things following him; a duck and a weird dog thing. Seifer had been gloating to Rai and Fuu in the sandlot when the kid came wandering in, looking like he was lost.

Seifer didn't recognize him, and because Rai and Fuu were around, he had challenged the kid to a fight in order to rule out any chance of insubordination. Some weird old guy had shown up then, the advisor of the struggle tournaments, and told them to make it an 'official struggle battle,' or something. So they did.

And he lost.

Big time. The kid took all his orbs like it was nothing.

"Sora…"

Seifer shook his head. Where did that kid go? He wanted a rematch. He wanted to show that he was still the best in town, that he had gone easy on him or something. But that wasn't true. He had given it his all and still got his ass kicked. It was probably why he was so restless.

Here he was, the strongest guy in all of Twilight Town, but he could not shake the idea that there was someone out there who was even stronger than that. He wanted a rematch. He wanted it soon, too.

"Ah, whatever," Seifer said aloud. "Might as well go home. Got nothing better to do."

He didn't like going home. He didn't really feel like he was welcome there. Truthfully, he had yet to find a place where he really felt at home, but his house was one of the places furthest from the feeling a home should have. It looked nice. It was clean, the yard was well kept. Inside the furniture was modern and comfortable. The rooms weren't too big or too small. But still, the place reeked of loneliness.

"I'm home!" Seifer stepped past the threshold and began the cautious dance that was greeting his mother.

"You're late." The voice echoed from another room where the dull noise of the television sounded.

Seifer reached up and removed his hat, placing it on the nearby coat rack. "I don't have a bed time anymore." He removed his trench coat and hung it up as well. "We went over this a month ago."

"Yeah? Well alright. But I didn't make you any food."

Seifer bent down and pulled off his shoes, placing them carefully against the wall next to his mother's sandals. "That's alright. I ate with Rai and Fuu already." It wasn't a total lie. They had gotten ice cream an hour or so ago.

"With who?"

Seifer winced. "Shit…" he mumbled. It had been going well until then, too. "Rai and Fuu. My friends, mom."

"I know who they are." The buzzing of the TV stopped and Seifer knew his mother had turned it off. "I'm just surprised that you still spend time with them." Mentally bludgeoning himself, Seifer stepped forward and past the archway that led to the family room.

"They're my friends, why wouldn't I hang out with them?"

His mother was lying on the large white couch, dressed in loose silk pajamas. Her blonde hair was kept up in a perfect bun. Her eyes were hard and gray. "Well…I had just always assumed you would outgrow riff-raff like them."

He did his best not to show any emotion, but could feel his mouth twitch slightly. "I dunno, maybe some day. But right now I enjoy spending time with them, ok?"

With a sigh, Seifer's mother pushed herself up and brushed a stray hair out of her face. "Ok?" A cold smile slipped across her face. "You don't need my permission to have friends, Seifer." The woman's smile widened slightly, and Seifer couldn't help but think of snakes when he looked at it. "It's just that I wish you could pick people more on your level. You know what I mean?"

"I guess."

"That boy Rai, we both know he isn't very intelligent." Seifer felt his fingers curl into a fist and had to concentrate on relaxing them. "And Fuu…well she isn't pretty, and she seems very anti-social. I don't know what you see in her."

Making sure his mother's piercing gaze didn't see, Seifer took a deep breath before speaking again. "I dunno, mom."

"Well I just don't want you to lose potential by hanging around lesser children like that."

"Yeah. I'll…look out for that."

"Good boy."

"Yeah." A strained smile crossed Seifer's face. "Well I'm gonna go to sleep now." He turned away, the smile immediately dropping from his face, and headed for the stairs.

"Ok, good night, Seifer."

"Night, mom."

He took the stairs casually, making sure not to sounds as though he were in a hurry. He opened the door to his room and closed it quietly behind him. When he heard the latch click, he waited a moment, listening closely until he heard the faint sound of the TV go back on.

"Damn it!"

His fist connected with the wall, shaking the room slightly. He withdrew his hand, knuckles bruised, one of them bleeding, and punched again. The room shook for a second time.

"Who the fuck…who the _fuck _does she think she is!"

His hand hurt from striking the wall and he angrily brought his knuckles forward one last time, crashing them into the wall and leaving them there. Drops of blood flowed down from his hand and fell in little rivulets down the wall. He let his head fall forward, landing against the wall with a dull thud.

"Damn it."

She was the only person who could get to him like this. And he hated it. Slowly, Seifer sunk to his knees, still leaning against the blood-spattered wall. Getting angry like that had tired him out. His eyes closed and he felt something wet escape them. As he drifted to sleep, his only thought was of how he would need to bandage his hand and clean off the wall so his mom wouldn't need to know that he punched it until he bled. He wasn't about to give her ammunition like that.

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Seifer awoke to the awful and irritating noise of his alarm. It was five thirty in the morning, the same time he woke up every morning. His mother got up at six thirty, and this hour gave him just enough time to get breakfast and get out before she got up and he had to talk to her.

Remembering where he had fallen asleep, Seifer stood up shakily, massaging the crick in his neck and trying to ignore his throbbing hand. He shut off his alarm and glanced back at the wall he had been resting against. The blood had dried now and some had sunk into the carpet at the bottom.

Yawning, Seifer ran a hand through his messy hair and opened the door, walking down the hall and into the upstairs bathroom. After washing his face, he grabbed some disinfectant and some spray cleaner before walking quietly back into his room.

After scrubbing away the bloodstains as best he could, Seifer poured the disinfectant onto a cotton ball and swabbed his reddened knuckles. It stung hard, but he bit his lip and made sure it was clean before capping the disinfectant and wrapping his hand with some bandages he kept in his desk drawer.

Finally on the edge of actually being awake, Seifer glanced at the clock and headed downstairs, careful not to wake his mother. A short breakfast, made only slightly more difficult by the bandages on his right hand, and he was out the door, pulling his trench coat over his arms and slapping his hat onto his head.

For all the times he told himself he left early to avoid his mother, Seifer could not help but wonder if he was really leaving to see the sun rise over the town. The sight was beautiful, the bronze sun drifting over the edge of the buildings and coloring everything a strange purple-gold. The stones of the street glowed in the morning light and Seifer could just catch the sound of the first trolley's coming to life throughout the town.

It would be several hours before Rai or Fuu would be awake, and as usual, Seifer had no idea how to spend the lengthy time he had been given. Walking along, he found that he had come rather quickly to reach the back alley. As gorgeous as the mornings were, they always left him too much time to think. He turned the corner, his mind drifting to painful thoughts like the conversation with his mother the night before. His hand was still throbbing.

What was he doing? Rai and Fuu were his friends, he knew. But why did he act the way he did around them? It had become his trademark, his reputation. He was the leader, the 'King.' He was certainly feared and despised like a king. He passed Hayner's little meeting place. Ollette and Pence all met there. They didn't like him. Probably cause he always gave 'em a hard time.

"Why do I do that to people?" He whispered angrily.

"Don't ask me."

Seifer literally jumped at the voice. It came from behind him and in a flash he had whirled around and pulled his hands from his pockets, bringing them up in defense.

"Who's there!?"

"Geez, you're awfully jumpy."

A young girl was standing at the entrance to 'the usual spot.' She was about his age, and had long red hair. He didn't recognize her. The girl rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"You're also pretty awake for so early in the morning."

Angrily, Seifer dropped his arms and shoved him into his pockets. "And who are you? You aren't from around here."

"No, I'm not. My name's Kairi." The girl smiled a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Tch, yeah. Nice to meet you." Seifer smiled insincerely. "What are you doing in my town?" He was doing it again. Why was he doing this? He had never met this girl before and Rai and Fuu weren't around. He wasn't really like this…so why?

Kairi frowned. "Grumpy, aren't we. Maybe you aren't as much of a morning person as I thought." Seifer blinked. People didn't talk back to him like that. People responded angrily, or not at all. This was different. "What were you talking about?"

Seifer shook himself out of his confusion. She had walked in on him talking to himself. Embarrassed, he pulled his hand from his pocket and scratched his head. "Huh? Oh…nothing important. It's none of your business."

"Alright then, what's your name?"

This girl just didn't stop. She definitely wasn't from around here. "What is this, an interview?" There he went again. Why was he being so mean? "You lookin' to start a fight?" He leaned forward and pointed a finger at the girl.

Kairi cocked her head to one side. "A fight? No…not at…hey," she squinted and then stepped forward. "What happened to your hand?"

Seifer felt his face turn bright red. "Nothing! Ok? Get out of my face, would ya?" With that, he turned on his heel and began stalking off down the back alley.

"If you don't tell me your name, I'm gonna call you Grumpy!"

Seifer stopped, his face turning even redder and his mouth twitching. After a second, he turned around again, staring at her. "It's Seifer! The King of Twilight Town, you got that!"

Kairi's face went blank. "The…King?" The corners of her mouth struggled to stay flat but soon gave way to a painful smile. She blinked and in a moment she burst out laughing, doubling over and clutching her stomach. "Oh man! That's priceless!"

Seifer let out a low growl and stomped down the steps to the sandlot. His face felt like it was on fire. The King of Twilight Town? "Yeah…I know it's silly. Damn it."


	2. Small

Here's chap number 2. Not much to say. Did it more or less right after chapter 1 so…not many thoughts on it. Hope you are enjoying it.

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Chapter 2

Small

Seifer angrily kicked at one of the small hedges in the sandlot. He felt wretched. Who was that girl? She just appears out of no where and makes him feel like a total idiot? What kind of crap was that? Still, he didn't need to be so mean to her. Maybe she was just striking back at him for that. Either way, he didn't think very much of this Kairi girl.

"Hey!"

Seifer looked up from the hedge he was kicking into nothing to see Kairi waving at him from the steps that led down into the sandlot.

"Crap…"

The girl hopped down the last step and walked over to him. "I'm sorry for laughing at you like that."

"You should be." Geez, it came out like vomit. He really needed to stop doing that.

"If it makes you feel any better," Kairi said with a smile. "I'm a princess of heart."

"Very funny," he said, his words dripping sarcasm. "Now why don't you scram. Get out of here. I've got a town to run."

"So you really are the King then?"

Seifer winced as the girl giggled. "Of course not. It was just a stupid nickname." He sighed. "Look, my name is Seifer. I'm the head of the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee. I'm pretty busy today, so unless you're here to cause trouble, why don't you just leave me alone."

"Disciplinary Committee?" Kairi blinked and tucked her hands behind her back. "Is that anything like…the police?" Seifer nodded, feeling the blood rise in his face. "So do you just catch bad guys or do you help out people in need?"

"Er…both, I guess. I dunno. Maybe."

"So if I needed help, could you help me?"

"No." Why not? Because she was annoying, that's why. While Seifer didn't like being mean to strangers, he had to admit that this girl was particularly annoying.

"Please?" Seifer rolled his eyes. "Ok…because I'm very lost. I came through this portal, searching for my friend Sora, but I can't find him anywhe-"

"Sora?" Seifer interrupted, unsure if he had heard her correctly.

"You know him?" Kairi's face lit up.

"Yeah, I fought him."

Her face drooped. "You fought? Why?"

"He was causing trouble."

Again, the girl's face brightened, although this time the look was more distant. Almost as though she was seeing something that he couldn't see. "Sounds like Sora to me."

"Well he isn't here anymore. He left a few months ago," and then, after a moments thought, "good riddance."

"Oh come on, Sora's not that bad."

"Whatever."

There was a long silence. Seifer began to feel uncomfortable. The girl talked a lot, and now all of a sudden, she was silent. What was she thinking about? He was about to tell her to leave because he had things to do when she spoke again.

"Was he…" Seifer could hear sadness in her voice. "Was he doing…ok?"

She sounded so worried about him. What was with this girl?

"Look, I don't know the guy, but he seemed fine, I guess." He looked away, scratching his head. "He was strong at least. I mean, he beat me."

"Really?" Kairi's earnest voice reached Seifer and made him look back to her. Her face was shining again.

"Geez…you don't need to be so pleased about it."

"Oh!" She looked away this time, her own face flushing. "I'm sorry. I…I didn't mean it that way." Seifer grinned.

"It's alright, I'm sure I come across as being really strong, after all. I guess it might be surprising to hear about anyone beating me." Kairi giggled again. Seifer smiled. "So if I've helped you out, why don't you just scurry along now and go back to your own home. I don't have all day to be playing with you, ok?"

Without warning, Kairi's face darkened. "I can't go home." The way she said it seemed so dark and foreboding, Seifer knew he shouldn't mess with it.

"Oh come on. Just walk back the way you came. It isn't that hard."

Kairi's head rose and her eyes met Seifer's, glaring venomously at him.

"You don't get it. First of all, I didn't just walk here." She took a threatening step forward. "And secondly, I don't _want_ to just go home. I came here because I'm tired of waiting around for Sora and Riku. I want to do something."

Seifer was surprised. People never spoke this strongly about stuff around here. What was her deal? And what did she mean, she didn't walk here? She made it sound like she came from really far away or something.

"Geez, whatever floats your boat. No need to burst a vein." He shook his head condescendingly. "Where did you come from, anyway?"

"Another world."

Her response was so quick, Seifer actually snorted a bit.

"Oh really? Yeah, that doesn't sound completely ridiculous."

"I'm serious!"

And somehow…he knew she was telling the truth. So that meant that Sora had come from that same world. All of a sudden, Seifer felt very, very small. He had always felt that he was the strongest in all of Twilight Town. Everyone knew it. But all of a sudden, the idea of new worlds, of all new planets where people like Sora existed…people stronger than him, way stronger. Talk about a little fish…

It was depressing.

"Alright…so you're from another world and you want to find Sora," he said tiredly. "Good for you, but I can't help you with that. So you can leave me alone now, alright? Get out of here."

Kairi frowned. She knew she had upset him somehow, and she felt bad, but she didn't really feel like putting up with people right now. She was trapped on some foreign world, unable to get back home, unable to move forward. She had expected a bit more pity.

"You know what?" she said, her voice rising slightly in volume and in pitch. "If you're gonna be like that, then fine. I'll go see if Hayner and his crew can help me then. Thanks for nothing, King."

Now this was familiar territory. She was angry at him. He could deal with this.

"Later, Princess. Don't leave any of that emotional baggage of yours behind." He watched the girl stalk out of the sandlot with a smile on his face. "Feh, girls." He glanced upwards, spying the large clock tower in the distance. It was only seven thirty, he still had another hour and a half until Rai or Fuu showed up. That left him a lot of time to think about things he didn't feel like thinking about.

"Crap…"

An hour later, Seifer was thoroughly depressed. He had picked up a struggle bat when the store opened just so he could practice. For half an hour straight, he had been thrusting and striking at invisible enemies. Every practiced parry felt perfect, every thrust guaranteed to kill the enemy, and yet…

"Damn it!"

In a fit of anger, he threw the bat. It flew across the sandlot, crashing against the far wall with a comical squeaking noise. Not a very fulfilling noise at all. "Not good enough! Not good enough!" What could he do with such pathetic skills? Who could he defeat with such meager ability? It was all worthless without a proper opponent.

"You hold your sword like Riku does."

Angrily, Seifer swung around to glare at Kairi. "What do you want!?" he shouted.

The girl smiled a sad smile. I was just watching was all. You're really good. And that last stance was how Riku always held his sword."

Seifer spat on the ground between them. "You think I care about that?" Irritably, he turned and strode over to the bat he had thrown. He picked it up and wiped some of the dust off. "I don't even know who Riku is."

"He's a friend of mine. He and Sora used to practice together a lot." Kairi smiled again, her eyes were sad though. "Sora could never beat him though."

"Oh! That's just great!" Seifer exploded. "Another mystical alien man from another planet who is stronger than me! That's terrific! Well I'm tired of hearing about all this crap, you got that, princess? I want you to take your stories and head on to your next damn planet before I take this bat to your head, you understand?"

"You're bleeding through your bandage."

The observation took the fight out of Seifer. In an instant, he felt tired and defeated. She was right, too. All the practice had opened up the scabs on his knuckles and the blood was beginning to soak through the bandages. He hadn't even noticed.

"Do you push everyone away?"

Seifer looked at Kairi with tired eyes.

"Yes." He thought for a moment. "But not as much as I'm doing with you."

"Why?"

Why was she so nosy? This girl was really beginning to piss him off. Well if she was going to be so straightforward with him, he could do her the same.

"You wanna know why?" Kairi nodded. "Because you make me hate myself. For some reason, you are just a reminder of all the crap I go through, and that no matter how strong I get…if I stay here, I'm _always_ going to be a big fish in a little pond. And if there's one thing I hate more than myself, it is fate. And this is one thing that fate has set out that I can't change." He took a deep breath.

"So yeah, that's why I want you to go away."

Kairi was silent for a while, studying Seifer's pained face. He looked really torn up. She really got to him. It wasn't really her fault, but she just represented all these things that he hated. Finally, she spoke again.

"So…why can't you just leave?"

"What?"

Kairi crossed her arms slowly and began thinking hard. "When Sora, Riku and I wanted to leave the islands, we built a raft and were going to set sail, then things just started happening." She smiled to herself, recalling an old memory. "Have you ever tried to leave?"

Seifer couldn't believe what he was hearing. This girl had built a raft to travel between worlds? She was obviously spouting off nonsense. And besides, he couldn't just leave Twilight Town. He had a reputation here; he had friends and a responsibility to keep people in order.

"No, I haven't tried to leave. I can't just leave like that."

"Why not?"

Did she ever stop?

"What's it to you? Maybe I've got friends here…people that couldn't get along without a guy like me around."

Kairi put her hands on her hips and grinned slyly. "You could always come back to visit them."

"Look, it isn't that easy to just up and leave! People need me here! If I wasn't around, things would start falling apart." His arms were spread wide now and he could feel his teeth grinding against each other. If this stupid girl didn't quit her damn questioning soon, he was going to do something drastic.

"Morning."

The simple voice broke the silence in the lot. Seifer looked up, embarrassed for some reason to be talking to this new girl. Fuu was crossing the lot, her face as blank as ever.

"Hows it going, Seifer. We're a bit early, ya know?"

Rai's heavy voice echoed over the lot. His two companions approached from different entrances, both eyeing up Kairi and wondering what was going on. Rai would be the first to ask. He wasn't a very tactful person.

"Exhibits A and B, Princess," Seifer whispered proudly. He pushed roughly past Kairi and smiled widely. "Just because you're early doesn't mean I haven't been waiting for the two of you." He could feel his comfortable persona settling back in. The false confidence began to grow and his voice became casual and more self-assured.

"Apology."

"Yeah, sorry, ya know?"

Seifer shook his head, closing his eyes and smiling confidently. "What would you guys do without me?" When he looked up again, the world stopped.

Behind Rai, something black and sinister was rising from the earth. It seemed to be made of shadows and it had large, dangerous looking teeth. Claws extended outwards, stretching out and gleaming darkly. The monster's antennae twitched violently and two pale yellow eyes glowed fiercely.

Seifer watched the thing leap into the air, its dark maw opening into a terrible grin. Was it real? Was he really seeing this? Rai didn't seem to be aware of it, and Fuu wasn't looking in that direction. Was it a hallucination? There's no way it was real, right?

He heard a noise from behind him, and suddenly he knew that it was really there. Kairi's voice began to rise in a scream of warning. Seifer couldn't make out what she was saying, but it didn't matter because he was already in motion. His legs were pumping through the infinitely slowed moment. Every shadowy detail of the beastly creature could be seen; every twitch of the claws, the hungry, yellow eyes staring down at Rai.

He wasn't going to make it in time. It was obvious. Rai was half way across the sandlot. There was no way to reach him. But Seifer's body was one step ahead. He felt his arm whip forward and release the struggle bat. The sky-blue toy left his fingers and hurtled across the square, it looked ridiculous. The creature was bearing down on Rai now, mouth opened wider than before, a dark tongue peeking past black lips. The bat connected with a squeak and the shadow creature stopped. Suddenly time was alive again.

"Rai! _Move it_!" Seifer screamed. The creature paused, looking puzzled as Rai turned around in confusion. The brawny teen saw the beast and was immediately off and running.

"_Heartless_!" Kairi's voice split the air.

"Danger!" came Fuu's alarmed response.

The shadow looked down briefly at the struggle bat and then looked up again, just in time to catch Seifer's dropkick to the face. The creature flew backwards, stumbling before falling and crashing into a hedge.

"Fuu, get Rai outta here! Princess, you too!" Seifer shouted, picking up the struggle bat. It looked absurd, but it was better than having no weapon at all.

The creature was standing now, looking more dazed than hurt.

Seifer dropped into his well practiced stance and brandished the bat. "Ain't nobody or _nothing_ that causes trouble in my town!"


	3. Invincible

Um…here's the next chapter. I hope more people start reading…not that I don't appreciate Rikku's reviews! I love you very much, of course.

Hope readers are enjoying it.

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Chapter 3

Invincible

Seifer rushed forward, dipping slightly at the last moment and lashing out with the struggle bat. He flicked his wrist, a trick he had picked up after countless hours of practice, and the bat came up hard right against the shadow-creature's chest. For a second time, the thing went stumbling backwards, tripping over the hedge this time and falling to the ground.

"That's right, stay down, would ya?"

He could feel his blood pumping, the adrenaline making his senses sharper and his reactions faster. He was on his toes, more alive than he had been in ages. The beast lifted itself to its feel and in moments Seifer was upon it, thrusting forward and burying the tip of the bat into the monster's stomach. It stumbled backwards, bumping into the wall of the sandlot.

"How's that? Huh! How's that!"

Leaping forward, Seifer spun and unfurled a leg, kicking hard into the shadow. His foot connected, driving into the dark flesh and pressing it further toward the wall. Anyone else would have their breath driven from them.

Instead, the creature just blinked and opened its mouth wide, jet-black fangs appearing. With a jolt of fear, Seifer pulled his leg away, hopping backwards and bringing up the struggle bat once again. The shadow looked perplexed but pushed away from the wall and began advancing on Seifer.

"Oh, you want some of this, huh?" he whispered softly. "Well come get some!"

Darting forward, his trench coat fluttering out behind him like grey wings, Seifer flung the struggle bat forward, aiming for the creature's head. The bat flew true, heading right for the monster's big yellow eye. Seifer let out a little smile of smug victory. Then, at the last moment, the shadow's head split open, large jaws appearing once again and stretching forward. The dark teeth stretched down the length of the bat, a shadowy tongue latching onto the toy and pulling Seifer in.

"Crap!"

Hurriedly, Seifer let go of the bat and watched as the monster pulled into its dark maw and closed its awful jaws over the toy. When it opened its mouth again, Seifer couldn't see the bat at all.

"Fair enough…mano a mano, huh?" Seifer hopped up and down on his toes. "Fine by me."

The creature blinked and leaned forward slightly, as if inspecting Seifer. He could see the antennae shivering dangerously. After a moment, a toothy grin split across the shadow's face. It sent shivers down Seifer's spine.

The monster lurched forward, swiping at Seifer with large black claws. He ducked under the attack and stepped in, striking a quick blow with his undamaged left hand and then hopping away. The creature hardly seemed to notice the counterattack and quickly followed him. It swiped again with its claws, narrowly missing Seifer as he spun around the attacks and kicked out at one of the shadowy legs. He hit just above the knee and felt the dark flesh bend under his attack like rubber.

Whatever this thing was, it wasn't made of regular human parts.

Retracting his foot, Seifer moved just in time to avoid another clawed swipe. He gracefully dodged a second attempt and then moved in again, this time punching the monster in the stomach. Unphased, the beast took the opportunity to slash forward with its own hand.

"Agh!"

The clawed fingers bit into his shoulder and raked down the length of his entire arm as Seifer jumped away. Bright lines of blood began to form and although the cuts were shallow, they hurt like hell.

"Seifer!" It was Rai, shouting from across the lot. What was he still doing here?

"Rai!" Seifer turned to find the big boy standing at the edge of the steps. He had come back, for some reason. "Rai get out of here you damn idiot!"

"Seifer! Look out!" Rai's hand raised in alarm and Seifer whirled around to see a large upraised claw lifting above him. The shadowy hand started coming down fast and Seifer knew he wasn't going to be able to get out of the way. The best he could hope for was to leave himself bleeding heavily.

"Stop it!"

There was a blur of pink and red as someone barreled into the shadow from the side. The monster, taken by surprise, lost its footing and tumbled to the ground, rolling across the dusty lot. Seifer watched the creature crash to a halt several feet away before shaking himself out of shock and looking down at the person who had saved him.

"Princess?"

Kairi shakily pushed herself to her feet, wincing slightly and trying to wipe the dust from her clothing. "That thing is called a Heartless. It tries to take people's hearts. He was going to take yours."

Seifer was dumbstruck. He didn't know what to say to that. It sounded absurd, first of all, and secondly, he had just been saved by a girl. "What are you still doing here?! I told you to go with Rai!"

"No, you told Rai to take me."

Her stubbornness really pissed him off. "Look, I got this, ok? So why don't you just step back and let me handle this before you get hurt."

Kairi's face tightened into an angry scowl. "You have _no_ idea how tired I am of hearing that."

"Well," Seifer was surprised to see her react so harshly but knew that if she stuck around she was going to get in the way. She would probably get killed. "If you don't want to hear it again, you could always just do what I say."

And before she could say anything else, he darted past her, picking up speed as the Heartless creature finally regained its footing. His feet left the ground and met with the dark flesh of the monsters face, knocking it off balance and backwards. The Heartless hit the ground with a thud and Seifer followed, rolling to his feet and turning back to the shadow.

"I really..."

Seifer leapt back at the Heartless, raising one leg high over the ground until it pointed straight into the sky.

"Didn't want…"

His leg whipped downwards, the heel dropping like an anvil down right between the two glowing yellow eyes.

"To mess up my shoes today!"

The black flesh held for a moment and then flattened, the sides of the shadowy skull bulging until they burst, dark goo exploding out over the dusty sandlot. Seifer stood over the twitching body of the Heartless, panting heavily and looking down with disgust at the puddle of black goo that his foot was sitting in.

"Gross," he said with a sneer as he pulled his foot away, shaking it to remove some of the tar-like substance.

"Wow!" Rai's heavy voice echoed over the sandlot. "That was awesome, ya know?"

Seifer smiled. It had been pretty cool. He wasn't the best fighter in Twilight Town for nothing. He glanced down at the Heartless which, to his surprise, was now evaporating into nothingness, the black flesh slowly disappearing. Weird, he thought.

"You're a pretty good fighter."

Seifer glanced upwards again. Kairi was watching the place where the Heartless had been lying.

"Not as good as Riku or Sora…but better than Tidus or Wakka."

Seifer grimaced. This girl was beyond irritating. Here he had just obliterated a shadow monster that ate hearts and she goes and gives him this backhanded compliment? Oh, you were good, just not as good as two of the people I know. Sure, that made him feel really great.

"Oh yeah?" His voice dripped annoyance. "Well I'm glad I'm better than two of your alien guy friends." Every word that came out of her mouth made him want to scream.

"Hey, Princess?" His voice lowered. "You believe in fate?"

Kairi blinked, confused by the strange change of expression. She looked up to the twilit sky and thought back over the past few years. Her adventures with Riku and Sora. How they had come to her rescue. It all seemed fated to happen, didn't it?

"Yes. I think I do."

Seifer smiled and scoffed. "Figures." He shook his head and began pacing, making a wide circle around the red-headed girl. "I believe in fate. And you know what I think? I think you and I were fated to be enemies. Cause everything you do makes my brain hurt, and I don't even know you that well."

Kairi frowned.

"But you know what else?" Seifer stopped pacing, coming to a halt and looking up at the clock tower. "I ain't nobody's pawn. Not your's, not my parent's, and sure as hell not fate's." He turned to look at Kairi. "So let's be friends." Seifer reached out with his hand, offering it to the red-headed girl. "Whaddya say, Princess?"

Kairi blinked again in confusion. This guy was certainly a weird one. Very different from Riku or Sora. Even so, her hand lifted and met with Seifer's, grasping his calloused palm and shaking vigorously with a smile.

"Sounds good to me, but my name is Kairi."

They're hands separated and Seifer smiled. "You're gonna have to earn your name, Princess, just like everyone else here."

Kairi scowled comically and stuck her hands on her hips. "Body-slamming that Heartless wasn't enough?"

"Nope."

Kairi sighed. "Fine then, King."

Seifer winced. "I think I've more than earned my name, what with heel dropping that beasts face into nothing."

"Nope."

Through gritted teeth, Seifer smiled an angry smile. "Seems like the start of a beautiful friendship."

"Uh…" Rai's deep voice broke into the tense moment and Seifer turned.

"What is it, big guy?"

"We got trouble, ya know?" Rai pointed with a large tan finger across the dusty lot. Five shadows were rising from the ground, one of which wore sharp metallic armor. It clanked loudly. None of them looked friendly.

"Ah…yeah." Seifer said blankly. He stared at the Heartless as they began stumbling toward them. After a moments thought, Seifer cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"_Run!_"

In seconds, the three of them were dashing up the steps leading out of the sandlot. Seifer took the lead, sprinting headlong to the top step before scrabbling on the dusty cobblestones and making a sharp right turn. Kairi followed closely behind him, taking the turn slightly wider than Seifer had. Behind Kairi, Rai puffed his way to the top step and tripped, rolling once before regaining his footing and taking off down the alley in pursuit of Seifer.

After taking another sharp turn, the trio exited into large open space that was the center of town. Glancing quickly behind himself, Seifer cursed as he saw the black figures still rushing after them, armor clanking with every menacing step.

"Alright!" he shouted, turning back to Rai. "Split up! We'll meet by the weapon's store!" Rai threw a hasty salute and turned, sticking close to the wall of a large house. Seifer watched him go for another minute before turning and taking off in the other direction.

"Wait!" Seifer didn't stop, but he did turn to look over his shoulder. Kairi was running after him, hard on his heels. "I don't know where that is!"

Seifer let out a sigh between his panting breaths. "Fine then, follow me!"

The pair rushed through the streets, leaping into tight alleys and up onto rooftops, taking every shortcut Seifer could remember in his haste. Gradually, Seifer could hear the sound of clanking armor growing softer in the distance behind them.

Jumping down from a convenient overhang of one of the buildings, Seifer hit the ground, rolled and jumped to his feet. In front of him, the large neon sign that read "Weapon's Shop" shone brightly in the misty morning air. A rotund man peered out from behind the shop window with a kind, if somewhat confused smile on his face.

"Playing one of your games again, Seifer?" he asked with a chuckle that made Seifer wince.

"Hardly," Seifer said quickly. "Look, you know that sword that I've been saving up for? The one that I told you to keep on ho-"

"Ah!" The shopkeeper smiled a wider smile and leaned out of the window, beaming at something past Seifer. "And who's your friend?"

Kairi slowly stood up, wincing slightly from the drop from the last house. "Kairi, she's from out of town." Seifer said quickly. "Now look, about that swo-"

The shop keeper leaned forward, eyebrows rising suggestively. "She's quite the looker, eh?" Seifer's jaw dropped. "But this is some tour you're giving her. Not fit for such a lady as herself." Unable to respond in a coherent way to the shopkeeper's absurd insinuation, Seifer stared blankly at him. "You should take her to Sunset Hill. The ladies love that. It's how I met my wife, actually."

"Would you shut up!" Seifer finally shouted. The shopkeeper smiled a knowing smile and winked before withdrawing back into the store.

"What can I do for you?"

"Finally," Seifer sighed. In the distance, he thought he could hear the sound of clanking metal. "That sword, the one I asked you to put on hold," Seifer hesitated. What could he say? Monsters are coming, I need to go slay them? No. With a sigh, Seifer decided to go with the simplest plan. "I was wondering if I could take another look at it?"

"Sure thing, Seifer! You're my best customer after all." The shopkeeper ducked out of the window and back into his shop.

"What are you doing?" Kairi sidled up to the window.

"Hush."

"Are you going to…"

"I said, hush."

"The Heartless are coming."

"I know." Then he thought of something. Turning to look at the red-headed girl, he asked, "Hey, how do you know so much about those things?"

"Well…" Kairi fidgeted slightly. "Sora fights them…a lot. It's sort of his job."

At the mention of Sora's name, Seifer's fists clenched and his jaw clamped shut angrily. Here, he had killed one of those monsters and felt proud as hell, but Sora…fucking Sora had a job fighting these things? It seemed that everyone was stealing his thunder today.

"Here we are…" the shopkeeper's voice emanated from behind the counter, his head soon appearing. "This is it, right?" The fat man smiled and motioned forward with his hands. In his chubby arms, a long, thin blade rested. It was, for the most part black. The middle of the blade was dark as the night and only the edges shone silver. The edge itself looked painfully sharp. It was long, maybe a foot longer than Seifer's arm.

"Yeah," Seifer smiled. He was shaking slightly. The sound of clanking metal grew louder still in the distance. "Can I…" he smiled an embarrassed smile. "Can I hold it? For a moment?"

The shopkeeper blinked and then smiled, glancing briefly at Kairi as if to say, "I see." Sure enough, the man nodded and held the blade out for Seifer to take. Seifer nodded and took the blade carefully. It weighed a good amount more than any struggle bat, but that was to be expected.

"Thank you very much," he said with a wide smile. "I'll be sure to get it back to you as soon as I can."

"What?"

But he was already off and running, the dark blade held tightly in his clenched hand. He felt invincible, holding that sword. He rushed around the corner, breaking out into the light of the town center.

Before him stood a mass of bobbing shadowy heads. Armor clanged loudly against itself as they advanced toward him.

"I can't believe you stole something." Kairi's voice was low with shock and hinted at disgust.

"Quiet now," Seifer said under his breath. "This is my time. Don't go ruining it."


	4. Get Out

This is definitely my favorite chapter so far. I was initially gonna title the chapter, Fuck You, but decided that was too much. So here it is. I hope you like it. Should get things really started.

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Chapter 4

Get Out

His blood coursed through him like fire, igniting every sensory nerve in his body. His hairs stood on end all over his body and he was silently thankful for his hat. He could hear some distant, almost inaudible rhythm playing somewhere like thousands of enormous drums playing a beat that got faster and faster and faster. He shifted back and forth on his feet to the silent rhythm, his left hand clenching and unclenching in excitement. His right hand gripped the handle of a very sharp, very real sword, black for the most part except for silvered edges.

He felt alive.

"Let's do it then," he whispered, more to himself than to Kairi.

The first Heartless broke free of the crowd and darted forward, large shadowy claw raised above its head, the antennae twitching feverishly beneath. Seifer watched the terrible, sharp digits rise and then fall toward him, glowing yellow eyes staring at his chest, no, at his heart. He took a small step forward and then…

The blade flashed obsidian and cut deftly through the blackened flesh. The Heartless eyes grew wider, dimmed, then exploded, the whole creature evaporating in mid-air, becoming black mist that thinned and disappeared. Seifer stepped down hard with his left leg, his arm swinging back, finishing the arc that had cleaved through the shadow. He felt his shoulder strain and tightened his arm. The sword was heavier than the struggle bat, but it wasn't something he couldn't handle.

"Alright!" He shouted, standing up and glancing around at the Heartless. There were ten or so of them. "Now I told your friend…but maybe you weren't aware…"

An armored Heartless jumped forward, armor making heavy metallic clangs, like pots banging together.

"There ain't nobody…"

The Heartless took a step back and then jumped forward, body spinning like a top.

"That causes trouble in my town!"

Seifer swayed where he stood, ducking out of the way of the oncoming Heartless and lifting the sword up quickly in one smooth motion. He felt the blade hit metal and pass through, entering dark flesh and exiting once more.

Seifer didn't look back to watch the Heartless fade into nothing but turned instead to look out over the crowd in front of him. There were about ten, by the looks of it. Seifer smiled.

"Well if you're just gonna come at me one by one," he said sarcastically. "There's just no way you can win."

A smaller Heartless broke through the ranks, scuttling along the ground, its mouth opening wide to show dark fangs. Seifer nonchalantly stepped to the side and struck down at the creature, thrusting the blade through its skull, right between the twitching antennae.

"And where's your banter? What good is a fight without witty repartee?"

Two Heartless burst forward this time, one clad in armor, the other one small, moving on all fours. They dashed forward, yellow eyes glowing menacingly. The armored one lifted a pitch black hand with long claws. Seifer slid under the attack and jumped over the smaller Heartless, kicking it as he flew through the air. It stumbled forward and caught itself as the armored one turned and came running back.

"When I say if you come one by one it won't be enough," Seifer said irritably. He darted forward, parrying the claw descending upon him and running the Heartless through in a single, practiced motion. "I didn't mean that if you just up your numbers by one it would make any difference!" He whirled around, blade arcing out and downwards to cleave the smaller Heartless in half.

"But if you aren't gonna take me seriously," Seifer spun to a halt, raising the blade and pointing it at the nearest Heartless. "Then I'll bring the fight to you."

His knees bent and in a second he was darting forward, ripping into the armor of the nearest one and pulling the blade free in a second. The black sword bit into black flesh again and again, reducing four Heartless into a fine, dark mist.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement. The metallic clang of armor sounded too close. Spinning quickly, he held out his sword, feeling it cut into the dark matter of a small Heartless. He danced in and out, forward, striking a heartless and back again, slipping away from the retaliation that followed. He was untouchable. He was invincible.

He was done.

Seifer blinked and looked around. A fine mist of blackness was slowly thinning, but other than that, the tram common was empty. Suddenly, he felt uneasy, standing there with sword in hand and no enemies in sight. He wanted more. He really wanted to fight. But it was over. He had won. What a rush!

"That was awesome! Ya know?"

Seifer turned to see the large figure of Rai galloping across the Tram common. He had forgotten that they were supposed to meet up at the weapons shop. What had taken the big guy so long?

"You really showed them who the boss around here is, ya know?"

His friend's admiration warmed his still rapidly pumping heart. He really had done a good job. He was glad there had been someone to see it. Speaking of which…

Seifer turned back to the ramp leading in the direction of the weapons shop. Kairi was standing there, looking at him with a blank stare. Seifer smiled, flicking the sword upwards and letting it fall lightly on his shoulder where he balanced it nonchalantly. "How'd you like that one, princess?"

Kairi blinked in surprise and then smiled. "It was good!" She yelled cheerfully, lifting her hand and offering a thumb in recognition.

"Good?" Seifer cocked his head to one side. "That was _amazing_! I just beat up ten of those things." He wondered if she could comprehend the awesomeness of what had just occurred.

"Well…yeah." Kairi's voice sounded withdrawn, confused. "That's why I said it was good."

Seifer shook his head, chuckling to himself. "Clearly you don't get it." He walked a few steps toward the girl. "I single-handedly defeated a swarm of shadow monsters." He stopped and leaned forward, spreading his arms wide. "How often do you get to see that happen?"

Kairi smiled, but it seemed like an apologetic smile. "Um…" she said slowly. "A lot…actually."

Seifer's jaw dropped.

"Not that it wasn't cool!" Kairi said quickly. "It's just that…you know, after you see it so many times it just…loses its shine."

Seifer couldn't think of anything to say to that.

"I mean, after being around Sora and Riku for so long…and seeing them beat so many of-"

But the rest of her words were lost to Seifer. Sora and Riku. _Again_. Seifer's jaw clenched and his hand tightened around the hilt of his sword. Always, always one step ahead of him. Stealing his thunder, every time. He had just killed a crowd of monsters, and this new girl acts like it's an everyday occurrence.

"_Sora fights them…a lot. It's sort of his job."_

The words came back to him like a brick to the face. It _was_ an everyday occurrence for her. These people were out there daily, kicking ass and beatin' up monsters, and here he was, proud of taking out ten. What was he thinking?

"-after all." Kairi was still talking. "But it's still…really neat that you won."

"Hey," Seifer said with a low voice.

Kairi looked up with a nervous smile.

"Shut up." The girl looked shocked. "Look…you've obviously been around this kind of thing before." Seifer's voice was gruff and menacing. Rai looked from his friend to Kairi, face creasing with worry. "So here's what I'm wondering." Seifer lifted his head and stared at Kairi.

"Why are these things showing up now?"

Kairi blinked in confusion. "What…do you mean?"

He took a step forward. "You show up, spouting stories about friends from other planets who fight these things and all of a sudden they start showing up."

"I don't know what you're-"

"This town was plenty peaceful just yesterday, so why now? Why is it that as soon as you show up, these monsters start attacking?"

"You think…?"

"It's only logical that you are somehow bringing them here." Seifer's eyes hardened.

"Seifer…calm down, ya know?" Rai's voice was soft and weak.

"I don't know if it's on purpose or if they just follow you, and frankly I don't give a shit."

Kairi's eyes were growing watery from the Seifer's onslaught.

"But the fact is, this is my town and I do my fucking best to keep it safe. I will not have some _princess_ come waltzing in here and causing trouble." Seifer took another step forward and pointed at the girl with his sword. The edge of the blade glinted dangerously.

"I want you out."

Kairi's face reddened furiously. Her eyes grew wide and watery as she stared down the length of the blade toward Seifer. He thought she was responsible for this? That she brought these things here? Hadn't he been the one to request a friendship? And now he was telling her to leave? Not even asking if she was able to leave, but demanding it!

"You…" Kairi said slowly, her voice dark and straining with every emotion she could think of. "You think I'm the one causing this?"

Her words were dangerous, but Seifer wasn't going to take it. "Yes. I do. And I'm the one who protects this town, so I want you to-"

"Would you _listen to yourself!_" Kairi shrieked. Seifer stopped in shock. Tears were falling from the girl's eyes now as she looked at him. "_You don't know anything!_" she shouted. "Heartless are formed from the darkness within people's hearts! They don't just follow people around! They are summoned when someone has enough negative emotions to call upon them." She was growing quieter now and she turned her head away, looking down at her feet.

Seifer remained silent.

"Riku was like that," she said softly. "Something about the way things were made him unhappy. But he was strong enough to conquer that darkness and make it submit to him. Me and Sora…we weren't like that." She looked up again, tears flinging out of her eyes and landing without a noise on the black blade that quivered in front of her.

"You know what _I_ think?" She shouted. "I think _you're _the one summoning them!"

Seifer felt his breath leave him. Slowly, he let the blade drop.

"I think that _you're_ the one around here who isn't happy for some reason!" She stepped forward. "I only just met you but already I can tell you aren't happy here! And it's that darkness that's bringing these monsters, these Heartless here!"

"Now that's just not fair, ya know!" Rai stepped forward, his voice heavy with concern. "Seifer'd never bring those-"

"Rai." Seifer's voice was stern. Rai turned to look at Seifer and then grew quiet, retreating several steps away.

"I don't know what it is, but somehow, darkness is beginning to thrive in your heart and the Heartless want that." Kairi said, her voice softening now and her face turning from anger to concern. "You're drawing them to you."

The Tram Common was silent for a long time. Seifer and Kairi's eyes were locked, Kairi's full of concern, Seifer's dead blank, unreadable. Rai shifted uncomfortably, aware that he was in the middle of something he shouldn't be.

Finally, Seifer sighed heavily.

"So it's my fault?" he said icily.

Kairi squirmed and shook her head. "It isn't your fault…you're just the cause."

Seifer turned and looked down at the sword in his hand. So it was him. It made sense. He wasn't happy here. This place was draining him and keeping him from ever reaching his potential. He grimaced. His mother had been right. If he stuck around this place, he would never grow; never get any stronger. And now, if he stayed, he risked destroying all of Twilight Town.

"So what do I need to do? Huh?" His voice was heavy with cynicism, but Kairi could tell it was forced. "I just need to be happier, right?" Seifer looked up and for an instant Kairi could see the sadness in his eyes. "It can't be that hard to be happy again, can it?"

Although she wanted to say something, Kairi couldn't think of any answer to that.

"I see…" Seifer sighed again, turning to look at a now utterly mortified Rai.

The big teen felt out of place there, he didn't belong in this sort of world, where happiness was a serious matter. He belonged in a place where he could spend the days following Seifer's directions and procrastinating on his summer work.

"Hey, Rai?" Seifer said slowly.

"What is it, Seifer?" Rai asked, although for some reason he felt he already knew the answer.

"I'm…I'm gonna go away for a little while, I think." Seifer said with a smile. "Go traveling or something, you understand, right?"

"Yes sir!" Rai said, but he felt something catch in his throat, making it hard to talk.

"Look," Seifer put his hands on his hips. "I need you to do some things for me while I'm away, alright?"

Rai nodded.

"First of all, Fuu's in charge." Seifer smiled. "God knows what would happen if I made you the leader, right?"

Rai laughed, but it sounded funny.

"So I want you to tell Fuu that, ok?"

Rai nodded again.

"Good. And first thing tomorrow, you two need to make sure to rough up Hayner and his pals, ok? I don't want them thinking that just cause I'm gone for a bit that they can run wild. This is still my town. I want it in peak condition when I get back."

Rai tried to speak but the only thing that came out was a croak. His eyes began to feel wet.

"Alright," Seifer smiled. "Well then, get to it!"

Rai saluted and turned. As he ran, he began crying loudly, his attempts to cover his sadness only adding to the volume. Seifer watched his friend go. He hated to leave him like this, he did. Rai had always been there for him, in his own way. He had really been the sturdiest thing in all of Twilight Town.

"Hey Rai!"

Rai stopped and turned to look back at Seifer.

"One more thing." Seifer yelled, feeling something catch in his throat. "I want you to go to my house sometime today and give my mother a message." Seifer felt the strange sensation in his throat rise but he pushed it back down. His nose felt runny so he wiped it on his wrist.

"Tell her her son said this," Seifer smiled and didn't bother to wipe away the single tear that fell from his eye.

"Rai and Fuu are the best friends a guy can ever have, and that's never gonna change, so fuck you, mom."


	5. Favors

So I've returned for now. I don't know how long this is going to last, but I'm motivated again. Fanfiction has done so much for me lately. A certain someone knows what I'm talking about. People find love in the strangest places…

But here's a new chapter for all those people I haven't fallen in love with.

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Chapter 5

Favors

"What the hell do you mean you don't know how to leave?"

Seifer and Kairi sat on the steps in front of the train station, just barely covered by the shadow of the clock tower. Seifer stared unbelievingly at the red-headed girl.

"You got here, right? So just do the same thing you did to leave your planet."

Kairi sighed, blowing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes and rolling her head to look back at Seifer.

"I told you, it wasn't something I can just do again."

Seifer's jaw dropped. She couldn't be serious. This couldn't happen to him.

"But…but I just had that dramatic parting with Rai!" Seifer clutched his head and flopped onto his back. "There's no way I can see him again after that! It would ruin the whole thing!" He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger. "I was so cool…if we don't get out of here today…all of that goes down the drain," he whined.

Kairi looked at her new partner, lying flat against the steps and moaning in anguish, and giggled. Seifer's eyes shot open and he sat up again.

"It's not funny, I've got a rep, and this could totally screw it up."

"I'm sorry," Kairi stifled a final titter. "It's just…no one I know cares so much about being 'cool.' It's just kinda weird to see."

Seifer frowned and changed the subject. "So how exactly are we gonna get outta here? I don't want to stick around any longer. Those heartless might show up again, and I don't want them running amok in my town." He pointed a finger at Kairi. "This was your idea, princess. So why don't you take some responsibility and get us out of here?"

"My name is Kairi," Kairi muttered. The girl frowned and looked up at the clock situated high above their heads. She didn't know how to explain it any more clearly than she already had. She couldn't blame Seifer for feeling upset…or even for not believing her. It was a pretty crazy story after all.

Some guy in a black cloak showed up, and then a dog appeared and led me into a portal of darkness that transported me here.

Kairi shook her head, smiling softly to herself. It really did sound crazy.

Seifer watched the girl smile and sighed in exasperation.

"Alright, listen up."

Kairi turned to listen.

"You sound like you're crazy, but those heartless things were definitely real. So…let's assume some wonder-pup led you here through some dark portal thing." Seifer paused to let the absurdity of the idea sit for a moment. "How did that portal even open up?" Seifer sneered. "I doubt the dog did it."

Kairi glared at Seifer. He didn't need to make fun of her like that. "Well obviously it wasn't the dog." Rolling her eyes, she leaned back and looked up at the sky. It wasn't that different than the sky back in Destiny Islands. Almost exactly the same, though she could imagine that the stars might look a good deal different.

"That guy, Axel," Kairi began slowly. Seifer kicked at the dirt but kept an ear open. "He came out of one of the portals…like he had made it himself." Seifer nodded and remained silent, hoping she would get to the point. "And then, after me and the dog had been wandering around in that place, I saw a light, so I went to it and…"

Her voice trailed off as her memory hit a roadblock. She was missing something important, and she knew it. Seifer knew it too.

"Are you serious?" he said in exasperation. "You forgot what happened next? What did you see? Come on, Princess. You can do better than that, can't you?"

Kairi frowned, though not at Seifer's commentary. Her forgetfulness upset her more than her new companion's words. Not long ago at all, she had remembered that she had forgotten Sora. What else could she be missing now? She willed herself to remember, to try and remember what she had seen in the light.

"There was…" her voice was painfully slow. Seifer stopped complaining and listened intently. "There was someone there…in black."

Seifer snorted audibly. Kairi ignored him.

"The same outfit as Axel!" she finished proudly.

Seifer looked at the girl for a moment, mulling the new information over in his head. To begin with, it all sounded ridiculous, but he was willing to look past that for a moment. Two people in the same outfit, both of them involved with the portals somehow.

"So if you're wearing a black leather trench coat, you can open pathways in space and time?"

Kairi glared at him again. "Why do you have to be like-"

"Alright," Seifer interrupted her. "Here's what I'm thinkin'." He pushed himself to his feet and brushed the back of his coat. "This guy Axel was gonna abduct you, right?"

Kairi, though upset about being insulted and then cut off, nodded icily. Seifer smiled a condescending smile and began to pace back and forth.

"Right, and all of a sudden, this new portal opens up, so you and your pet run through, wander around in nowhere, then you see a new guy, and suddenly you're in my town." He stopped and looked back down at Kairi. "Am I getting this right?"

"The dog isn't my pet…" Kairi mumbled.

"So, guys in leather can make portals, it seems."

Kairi stood up, ready to yell at Seifer, but he continued quickly.

"What if that guy you saw in the light was makin' portals for you? To escape that Axel guy and to end up here or…really anywhere Axel wasn't?"

In spite of her growing annoyance with her new companion, Kairi stopped. He had struck on something interesting. It was too convenient, the portals appearing like that. Maybe that second guy really was trying to help her. But who would do that for her? Sora and Riku certainly, but it didn't really look like either of them. Too tall. She hadn't been able to see a face…

Seifer watched Kairi contemplate the new developments. It was clear that he had struck some said something right. Or at least close. He grinned. He really was too smart for his own good.

"So if this guy is helping you out, whoever he is," Seifer said with an arrogant and condescending tone. "Just call him up and tell him to send us somewhere else." He sat down proudly.

Kairi looked down at Seifer with a frown. "I didn't call him before though…the portals just…" she trailed off as she realized that Seifer was being sarcastic. She crossed her arms and sat down with an irritated noise.

Seifer smirked. After a few moments, Kairi sighed and turned back to Seifer.

"Seriously though, I don't even know who that guy was," she said, shaking her head. "I couldn't call him if I wanted to."

Seifer was put off by how fast she had shrugged off his sarcasm. He recovered quickly though.

"Alright," he said in a very business-like tone. "So here's what we've got. Some guy named Axel is following you, trying to catch you. This guy can make portals or something. There's someone else in the same outfit that can do it too, but he's on your side…we think."

Kairi watched him carefully. This was the first time he had really been serious since they left Rai in the tram common. It was such a stark contrast, Kairi wondered if he could really be one person.

"We really have no way to get off the world unless we get into one of those portals." The gears in Seifer's head were spinning now, piecing information together like so many puzzle pieces. "And we can't get your hero to come save you…" Seifer leaned back and propped himself up on his elbows triumphantly. He had figured it out.

"So we just wait for Axel to show up and hitch a ride in one of his portals."

Kairi blinked and her jaw dropped.

"That's your plan?" she sputtered. "Wait for the guy trying to kidnap me to come and then ask to use his portal?" She couldn't believe it. It was…well it was stupid. "That's crazy!"

Seifer sighed and looked at Kairi, raising an eyebrow. "Crazy?" He laughed. "Nah, it isn't crazy. Axel'll show up, I'll distract him while you slip into the portal and I'll jump in behind you."

Kairi blinked again. It still sounded crazy to her. "What do you mean by 'distract' him?"

Seifer reached to the side and picked up the shiny black blade. He held it up to the sun, which was nearly overhead by now. It glinted dangerously in the light.

"I'll fight him," he said simply. "At best, maybe I'll be able to get rid of the guy."

"Yeah, and at worst, you'll die and I'll get captured."

Seifer scowled. "Would you trust Sora, or Riku to distract him?" he said with venom in his voice.

Kairi was so taken aback by the change in Seifer's speech that she jumped. "W-well…" she stammered before she took a deep breath. "I guess I would trust them. If they promised to be safe." What was it about Sora and Riku that upset Seifer so much?

"Figures." Seifer glowered down at the steps where he sat. He knew he could handle it. He was sure of that. He was strong enough to handle himself. He looked up at Kairi again and sighed. "Well if you can come up with a better idea, let me know."

Kairi couldn't. She really had no idea how they were supposed to get anywhere at this rate. She wasn't even sure how she had gotten here, to be honest. She wondered briefly if it was all some sort of dream.

Seifer watched her in silence for a moment and then smiled. "That settles it," he said matter-of-factly. "My plan's the only one we've got so…we'll have to follow through on that."

"That would be unwise."

A deep, gruff voice sounded from behind Seifer and Kairi. In a flash, Seifer was up, turning around and readying his blade. Kairi was slower, and struggled to her feet after a moment. They both looked to the origin of the voice.

The speaker stood atop the steps leading to the train station. He appeared to be an elderly man, though it was difficult to tell. His face was covered in red bandages with holes for his mouth and one of his eyes which glowed orange. He stood very straight, with posture so tight that Seifer's back hurt. A blood red cloak billowed out behind him in the slight breeze that ran through the square.

"Figures that the day I quit the disciplinary committee, the town gets overrun with visitors that need to be put in their place," Seifer said with a wry laugh. He straightened up and pointed his sword at the man. "Who're you?"

The man was silent for a moment and then a smile split across his lips.

"It seems I had a very good handle on your personality," he said with a small laugh. "I really outdid myself."

Seifer raised an eyebrow. What was he talking about?

"You're almost impossible to distinguish from the program." The man shook his head. "It's nice for an old man to be able to take some pride in his work."

"I asked you who you were," Seifer said menacingly. The old man chuckled again and looked down toward Seifer.

"Is it a name you want?" He sighed. "I suppose you can call me DiZ, though anything you come up with is fine."

Kairi was watching the man carefully. She noticed that when he spoke of names, his one eye softened and his voice grew remorseful. The sadness in his voice was palpable to Kairi, and she felt something catch in her throat for a moment.

"Alright, DiZ," Seifer said, spitting the name back at the man. "What are you doing in Twilight Town, where'd you come from?"

DiZ remained silent for another moment and then looked up at the sky. The sun was now directly over head. Seifer and Kairi's shadows pooled by their feet like blobs of darkness. Seifer thought for a moment that the man standing on the steps had no shadow at all, but he dismissed the notion. His robe was probably just covering it up.

"I'm here by the request of someone I know," he said slowly. "A favor, of sorts. I certainly owe him one…" His one eye turned and looked directly at Kairi.

"I'm supposed to get you somewhere safe."


	6. Thanks

Yo, sorry I've been on hiatus, but it was summer and I was busy doing nothing. Now, however, I made it into college! Woot! It rocks here so much. I'm having a great time. My roommates are actually playing Kingdom Hearts right now.

I like this chapter. It's good. More character development I think. It's good stuff.

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Chapter 6

Thanks

Kairi stared at DiZ blankly. Seifer, thoroughly confused, looked back and forth between the two. Something was going on and it was over his head. He hated that.

"How do we know we can trust you?" he said irritably. He didn't like being left out. Kairi broke her staring contest with DiZ and looked at Seifer, surprised. Why was he asking that? Was he looking out for her? DiZ turned to gaze at Seifer.

"You never really _know_ if you can trust anyone," he said in his deep voice. "That's what trust is, believing in someone even if they could turn on you at any moment. Take away the uncertainty, and it ceases to be trust at all."

"Alright, so how can we be sure you're not working with that Axel guy?"

"You'll have to trust me."

DiZ smiled and Seifer's face darkened with anger. He wanted to say something in return, but the man had gotten him.

"In any case," DiZ continued, the smile dropping from his bandaged face. "It doesn't really concern you. You won't be coming along."

Seifer looked up, startled out of his anger toward the man. He wasn't going with her? Assuming this DiZ guy could even get Kairi off the planet, he wasn't invited along? His mind flashed back to the shadowy creatures he had fought in the tram common, the one that he had fought in the sand lot. That one had almost killed Rai. He couldn't stay here. He was endangering everybody. Kairi was his ticket out of here. It was the only way to keep Twilight Town safe.

Seifer opened his mouth to disagree with DiZ, when Kairi stepped forward.

"I'm not going anywhere unless Seifer can come too." To make her point clearer, she flung out her arms, like a barrier of sorts. Seifer looked at Kairi. She wanted him to come with her? But he'd been such an ass. He'd really tried to drive her away…but here she was, defending him.

DiZ looked from Kairi, then to Seifer, then back to Kairi. His orange eye flicked between the two of them several more times. Finally, he sighed.

"An old man like me can't possibly stand against the fire of youth." He chuckled. "I suppose it is fine. One more traveler won't make a difference."

Kairi let her arms down and jumped in the air. "Thank you so much!" She turned and grabbed Seifer's hands, taking him by surprise. "You hear that? You can come!" She looked him in the eyes with so much genuine excitement, Seifer blushed.

"Y-yeah. Great," he stuttered. When Kairi turned back to DiZ and let go of Seifer's hands, Seifer realized he had been holding his breath. He let it out and closed his eyes for a second. She had really surprised him. All that excitement? No one ever got that excited around here. Except maybe Hayner. But he was a jerk. Kairi had looked…well she looked cute, jumping up and down in excitement like that.

Wait.

"We'll leave immediately, alright?"

DiZ's deep bass voice interrupted Seifer's thoughts. He shook himself and looked up at the man. He still didn't trust him, but it was their only choice, it seemed.

"Yeah, I don't have anything to pack," he said. "And princess over here doesn't have any bags." He pointed a thumb toward Kairi, who scowled.

DiZ nodded. "Very well."

Without any warning, great plumes of darkness rose up all around Seifer and Kairi. Pitch black and deep purples mixed all around them. Seifer tensed up in fear and his hand shot to the hilt at his waist. He was about to pull the blade free when he felt a hand fall on his shoulder. An odd jolt of electricity shot through him and he could feel his ears burning. Kairi had grabbed onto him in the darkness. His hand fell away from his sword.

He felt her draw closer until she was pressed up against him. She was shaking slightly, probably out of fear. Seifer's own fear slowly slipped away and he straightened up, remaining alert, but now calm. The darkness pressed in around the pair until it might have crushed them, but Seifer didn't feel worried. Something about the girl standing next to him gave off a feeling of safety. She was like a light in the darkness. Seifer couldn't quite wrap his head around it.

Then all at once, the darkness disappeared. The suffocating blackness bubbled and dissipated and Seifer felt himself hit the ground with a jolt that nearly sent him stumbling. Kairi gripped harder onto Seifer's shoulder when she felt him jerk forward. Quickly, Seifer straightened up and turned to Kairi. He looked at her for a moment, not quite sure what he was feeling, let alone what to say.

"Would you let go of me?"

Seifer felt the scowl set on his face as the words left him. Silently he kicked himself. What the hell was that? He didn't really mean that. Although, he admitted to himself, he didn't know what he meant to say otherwise.

Kairi looked up at Seifer for a moment, her face thoughtful. After a moment, she let go and took a step backwards, still looking at her new traveling companion. It unnerved him, they way she was looking at him. It was like she knew something about him that he didn't."

"So…uh…where are we?" Seifer stammered, trying to break the silence. Kairi blinked and turned away. Had she smiled? Seifer thought he had caught a glimpse of a smile as she turned her back on him.

"Traverse Town."

Seifer looked at her curiously. "Is that right? You been here before, princess?"

Kairi smiled and pointed past Seifer. He turned to follow her direction and his eyes fell upon a bright neon sign that stretched over a large door. It read 'Traverse Town.' When Seifer looked back down, Kairi was beaming.

"Ah shut up," Seifer grumbled. "Let's going. Gotta find somewhere to stay unless you wanna sleep out here under the stars." He turned and began walking down the cobbled streets.

"I dunno," Kairi responed cheerfully, skipping to catch up with Seifer. "That sounds pretty romantic to me." She batted her eyelashes comically. Seifer felt something give a slight jump in his stomach.

"Quit kidding around," he said with a sneer. "You ain't worth sleepin' out in the cold."

With that he turned once again and stormed down the cobbled streets. Kairi followed closely behind him, smiling cheerfully. He didn't seem as angry as he had been before. She felt like he might be warming up to her. She wanted to be his friend, so she was glad his insults weren't quite as sincere as before.

After wandering around the central area they had arrived in, Seifer soon found that the houses were all closed. Most of them were shops, and judging by the stars in the sky, they would probably be closed. He wondered where the residential area was.

"You know," Kairi said slowly. Seifer stopped and turned to look at her. "I have been here before, you know."

Seifer twitched. "So why the hell were you letting me lead us around? I have no idea where I am."

Kairi grinned. "I dunno, you like to be in charge."

Seifer frowned. "Well then I'm ordering you to stop messing around and get us some place to sleep."

Kairi smiled again, enjoying the banter. There was no question anymore as to whether or not it was friendly. Seifer wouldn't admit it of course, but Kairi could tell. Without responding to him, Kairi skipped forward and took the lead. Seifer trudged along behind her, his hands now thrust into his trench coat pockets.

With Kairi now leading the way, they moved quickly toward a large door across the square. A large sign indicated that through the doorway was the second district. Seifer followed, his annoyance grudgingly transforming into interest. They pushed through the enormous doors which, to Seifer's surprise, gave way with little effort.

They walked out into a larger area with houses lining all sides of the street. Below them appeared to be a more open area where the sound of a fountain was just barely audible. Seifer spotted what appeared to be a hotel along one of the lines of buildings. At the other end of the district, a large clock tower rose over head. It wasn't as high as the one back in Twilight Town, but the dials still moved the same.

Without warning, Seifer felt something drop inside of his stomach. He was hit with an immense feeling of sadness that he had never felt before. Looking up at the clock as the minute hand ticked one spot further, Seifer thought of home and of the clock there. It hadn't been long ago that he had written a summer assignment on the clock tower.

Kairi was talking to him.

"What?" he said and cursed himself as he heard his voice catch.

"I was just saying that the hotel would be good to stay in." She looked curiously at Seifer. "You feeling ok?"

He wasn't. A lump had formed in his throat and he felt dizzy. He wasn't home anymore. He wasn't even on his own planet. He didn't even know if he was in the same universe. Everything was so strange and foreign. The streets, the buildings, the clock tower. This wasn't his home anymore. How could he be sure he would ever get back to Twilight Town again? Was he ever going to see Fuu and Rai again? He could feel his eyes beginning to grow wet.

"Yeah," he croaked. "Sure." He turned quickly as he felt a tear drop from the corner of his eye. "Let's just…the hotel…yeah." He began to move toward the hotel.

Something grabbed him by the shoulder. He struggled against the restraint for a moment until he realized it was Kairi. He felt her pull him back and he went willingly. The hand slipped off his shoulder and around his stomach. Her other hand joined it here, embracing him and pulling him close to her. He didn't try to escape her grasp, but he didn't turn to encourage her either.

Kairi let her head rest on Seifer's back, listening to his staggered breathing. She didn't understand why she was doing this, but it felt right. He needed it. She knew he did. It didn't matter that he probably wasn't going to thank her for it, or that he might even insult her later. He needed this.

Seifer knew it too. He didn't move, he didn't hug her back, he didn't move away from her, he just stood there, feeling the warmness of the girl behind him. He shook slightly as silent sobs racked his body. Something like this had never happened to him before.

They stayed like that for a long time, Kairi holding Seifer and him simply accepting it. Eventually, Seifer felt his sobs dissolve into heavy breathing and then he was calm again. He remained still for a moment longer and then gently pulled away from Kairi's embrace. Her hands fell away and returned to her side. Seifer, unsure of what to do, didn't turn around. Now that he was calm, his face was burning, but he couldn't bring himself to say something rude to Kairi. Whatever it was she had just done, it had really helped. What kind of person would he be to turn back on her for it.

"We should…get going," he finally said.

"Yeah."

He took the briefest of glances back at Kairi. He could feel his heart jolt sharply in his chest again and he quickly turned away. They walked in silence and Seifer got a room with a bed and a cot for the two of them. In silence, they fell into their respective beds and Seifer blew out the candles that lit the room.

In the darkness, Seifer listened only to the sound of breathing, both his and Kairi's. Within time, he could hear hers grow more even and rhythmic. He stared up at a ceiling he couldn't see and thought about everything that had happened to him in the past day.

"I guess…" he whispered in the blackness. "I guess I owe you an apology, huh?" He listened to the soft sound of her breathing. "Shit…I can barely say this when you're asleep." He laughed softly at his own incompetence. "You're stronger than I am…leaving your own world and not batting an eye." He rolled over on his side and faced the quiet breathing. "Sorry I'm such an ass sometimes. I can't help it." He sighed and shut his eyes, shaking his head and smiling.

"Thanks…Kairi."

He opened his eyes to look toward the girl across the room.

Pale yellow eyes stared back at him.


	7. First Kiss

So this chapter amuses me. I'm sorta getting in the swing of things. I really like this fic so…I hope you are all enjoying it as well.

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Chapter 7

First Kiss

For a moment, Seifer's mind was blank. He stared mindlessly at the two golden spheres, watching them move side to side in a bizarre little dance. They moved slightly closer and he felt clammy fingers caress his arm. They were sharp.

In a flash, Seifer pushed himself backwards and fell with a thump out of his cot. When he hit the ground, he heard something squeal and felt something struggle underneath his back and then scurry away. Seifer's heart was pounding with fear and panic as he struggled to find his sword in the darkness. He stumbled to his feet and crashed painfully into a nearby table, sending it crashing to the ground. The only thing he could see was the constantly shifting number of yellow eyes that skittered around the room.

With a scream, he felt something bite into his ankle and he fell to one knee, reaching back and swiping at the offending creature. He could feel warm blood begin to flow from the wound and he could not tell how deep it was. Blinded by darkness and absolute terror, Seifer staggered across the room, throwing his arms out and falling over heartless and furniture. He tripped over a chair and crashed headlong into the door. His hand whipped out, found the light switch, and flicked it upwards.

The room lit up with light and Seifer felt whatever color left in his face drain away. Shadows scampered around the fallen furniture, some leaping to avoid it and others simply flowed over them like normal shadows would. Seifer's frightened eyes scanned the room and found his sword lying next to his feet. He dove for it and picked it up, rolling to his feet and unsheathing it in a single movement.

Grasping the hilt of his sword, he felt more relaxed. He could feel his blood start to pump and his fear begin to mix with adrenaline. A small, bug-like heartless jumped up and over an overturned table. It's tiny, deadly looking claws extended and whipped downwards at Seifer. Without thinking, Seifer slid out from under the attack and whipped his own weapon upwards, cleaving the creature in half. It disappeared in a puff of smoke.

For a second, he though he heard someone calling his name. His eyes flicked over the room. Several of the smaller heartless swayed in front of him, but most of them were crowded around the large four post bed in the other corner of the room. For a split second, Seifer's blood ran cold. Kairi was sitting up with her back flattened against the wall, kicking out at the heartless as they moved toward her.

In a second, Seifer was barreling across the room. Sheathing his sword, he took a flying leap over the cot he had been sleeping in only minutes ago. The crowd of heartless turned to look back at him as he flew through the air and landed with a thud amongst the shadows. They squealed and scattered as he rolled and grabbed onto a startled Kairi.

"What the-!?"

Without pausing to answer, Seifer found his feet and pushed off from the mattress. He turned in the air and felt the window shatter beneath his back.

"SEIFER!"

Splinters of glass shimmered in the moonlight as Seifer and Kairi fell down to the alley below. As they hurtled downwards, Seifer flipped himself around as best he could so he was between the ground and Kairi. Though he couldn't see behind him, he knew he was drawing closer to the earth below. He felt himself tense up and he closed his eyes, squinting them and readying himself for the pain.

With a splash, they landed in water. Seifer felt the breath drove out from his lungs and panic fill his brain. He was drowning. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think straight. Seifer realized with a chill that he had dragged Kairi from the hotel with her blanket still wrapped around her. The large cloth began to soak and stick to his skin, binding him under the water as his lungs began to burn with the need for air.

He felt something grab his hand and pull him out from his wet confines. The soaked blanket was pulled from his face and he gasped loudly, taking in deep gulps of precious oxygen. When he looked up, he saw Kairi standing over him, looking down worriedly, the wet blanket in her hand. Seifer coughed up the last bit of water he had swallowed and stood up straight.

"Thanks," he said hoarsely.

Behind him, Seifer heard loud clanking. He whirled around and saw with despair that more heartless had appeared. These ones bore armor, much like the ones he had encountered back in Twilight Town. Exactly alike, in fact. They took clanking steps forward. Menacing in their movements. "Shit," Seifer cursed under his breath. He pushed Kairi behind him and reached for his sword.

It wasn't there.

"Shit!" he said more loudly.

"What is it?" Kairi asked in a panicked voice.

"My sword!" Seifer stepped back, his head moving side to side, scanning for where his sword had gone. "It must have fallen in the water!" He looked at the heartless again. They had the unmistakable aura of being very hungry. "Shit."

He ran his eyes around the alleyway. Behind him, the way was clear up until a bend in the alley. He couldn't tell what was beyond there. But it was the best chance they had for surviving.

"Kairi," he whispered sharply. "I want you to run down the alley, get away from these guys." Kairi looked up at him. "Don't worry about me, ok? Just go. I'll find my sword and meet up with you later. I promise, ok?"

"Seifer that's crazy!" Kairi began.

"Shut up and go!" Seifer turned and shoved Kairi down the alley as the heartless leapt forward. He didn't watch to see if Kairi kept going. Rolling to the side, Seifer fell back into the water, hands reaching out wildly, grasping for his sword in the murky water. There was a flash of silver and he rolled again, narrowly avoiding a metallic helmet as it flew by him. A shadowy claw flew out and caught his shoulder, ripping bright red lines in his skin.

He fell to the side as his arm gave out on him. The water filled his mouth and nostrils as he scrambled to his feet and clutched at the bleeding wound. It stung, and the water, which he assumed now to be sewer water, certainly didn't help it feel any better. Another shadowy limb flew out toward him and grazed his chest.

He tried to jump to the side, but fell instead, submerging himself entirely in the grimy water. He heard distorted clanging from the armored heartless through the water. He tried to push himself up, but an armored foot came crashing down on his back, pushing him further under. His hands were flailing now, desperately grabbing for anything to help him to his feet.

His fingers closed around something. The hilt of his sword, he realized. On his back, the foot pressed down harder, pushing the remaining air from his lungs. He tried to scream but only choked. The edges of his vision started to blur and darken. He felt the pressure on his back disappear. Was he dying? He couldn't move.

With a jolt, something grabbed him by the back of his coat, pulling him roughly out of the water and throwing him to the ground outside. He landed with a wet thump, coughing loudly.

"Push down on his chest! Get the water out of his lungs!"

A voice that Seifer didn't recognize pounded through his head.

"Alright!"

Kairi. He felt something press down lightly on his chest.

"Harder!"

The force increased and he felt water surge through his throat and explode out, splashing over his face and dribbling down past his ears. There was another push on his chest and the water exploded out again. He felt empty. The force on his chest increased again, but this time nothing came out.

"What now?" yelled Kairi.

"CPR! Quick!"

"What?!"

"He needs air! Mouth to mouth!"

"Are you serio-"

"Just stand back."

He felt strong fingers pry his mouth open slightly. He felt something warm on his face and then something press against his lips. Air rushed down his throat and into his lungs. His muscles tightened and he jerked upwards. His body convulsed with violent coughing.

"He's gonna be ok."

Seifer's eyes were burning. His throat felt raw. Finally he managed to catch his breath and he sat up, straining against gravity and weak arms. He looked up and saw Kairi looking down at him. Her face was awash with concern.

"Are you alright?" she knelt down in front of him and laid a hand on his ankle.

"I feel like shit."

Seifer smiled painfully and looked past Kairi. A tall man with long brown hair stood with arms crossed staring down at him. A large sword hung at his waist. The handle looked like a revolver. Seifer straightened up painfully and leaned toward Kairi.

"So…I was drowning, right?"

Kairi nodded.

"So…CPR?"

Kairi nodded, confused.

"And it wasn't you…"

Kairi nodded, smiling slightly as she began to understand.

"So…" Seifer looked at the other man. He paused for a moment, letting his water logged brain do the awful math. "Shit."

"I'm Leon," Leon said gruffly. "Nice to meet you"


	8. Mentor

Alright so I have some time off and I might write a little more while I've got it but here's the next chapter. I like it. Hope you do to. Sorry it's been a while. Not making any promises. Reviews do help though.

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Chapter 8

Mentor

Seifer sat down heavily on a rock at the edge of the water. Leon had led them in silence to his training alcove. Seifer had kept his eyes intently on the ground as they walked and he realized now that he had no idea how to get out or return when he did leave. The training cavern, as Leon had called it, was spacious. It was lit with candles for the most part and although they cast vaporous shadows across the walls, something about the place seemed very safe.

He heard footsteps behind him but didn't turn around. Kairi's shoes came to a stop next to him and she sat down on a nearby stone. The silence in the cavern grew as the two sat together, neither saying a word. Seifer noticed, with annoyance, that the tips of his ears had begun to prickle with embarrassment. If she was gonna come sit with him, why not say something? He thought he could feel his face turning red.

"So how're you feeling?"

Finally the silence broke and it felt to Seifer like he could breathe once again, as though he had been underwater.

"I'm ok," he said gruffly. Then, after a moment, "You alright?"

Kairi smiled. "I'm fine." She leaned back on her elbows. "It's a good thing Leon was nearby."

Seifer felt something wrench in his gut. "Yeah?" his voice sounded strange.

"Yeah!" Kairi said emphatically. "If it weren't for him, you would have drowned. And he took care of all those heartless too."

The twisting sensation intensified in Seifer's stomach, hardening his insides into a large undoable knot. "Yeah…it's good Leon was there then." What was that sound in his voice? It wasn't quite bitterness. It was something beyond that. God…he sounded pathetic.

Kairi sat up and leaned in toward Seifer. Something was weird. As much as she appreciated the change, by now he would have made some kind of wisecrack or something. He wasn't looking at her; just staring down at the flowing water. His eyes looked distant.

"You sure you're ok?" she asked again, laying a hand on his arm.

Seifer felt her soft touch on his forearm and felt a tingle of electricity there. Gently, he shrugged her off. "I said I was fine, ok?" He sounded like he was pleading with her. He hated that. Why didn't she back off? Normally, when he was feeling like this, Rai and Fuu would give him his space, let him brood and recover. They never got up in his face trying to ask him questions and everything. They just let him be. Why couldn't Kairi do that?

Kairi wasn't convinced. She knew that face. Riku had looked like that from time to time; brooding over something. But if she kept at it, Riku would always tell her what was going on. Why wouldn't Seifer? She knew it would do him good to get whatever was bothering him out in the open. What could have gotten him to be this morose? Well…he had nearly died just a short while ago. Kairi reached up and placed a hand on top of his. This time he didn't push her away.

"Seifer," she said gently. He didn't move. "I know that…well I know that you must have been pretty scared when you were in the water. That's natural. You were in a pretty dangerous situation." She paused, trying to gauge some kind of reaction but got nothing. "I mean, back where I came from, before I came to Twilight Town, we lived on islands, and obviously, everyone would swim a lot…"

Seifer listened but what she was saying made no sense. It all sounded like random crap to him.

"And so the very first time we all decided to go out for a ride in a boat, we didn't know that Sora couldn't swim."

It felt like someone had just punched the knot in Seifer's stomach. He looked up at Kairi. Her hand was still on top of his own, but she wasn't looking at him anymore, she was looking at the water like he had just been. Her eyes were distant but there was a glint of happiness in them. She was remembering times and people that she missed dearly.

"So, Sora fell off the boat, and Riku was just laughing and laughing until we realized that Sora never learned how to swim. Well, Riku jumped in after him and dragged him out. Sora was crying and screaming. He thought he was going to die."

Every time she said Sora's name, Seifer could feel someone twisting the knot harder and harder until it felt like he was about to break.

"Anyway," Kairi looked up from the water. "I'm just saying that when you think you're going to die, of course you're gonna be upset. That's natural. So don't worry about it, ok?" She smiled cheerfully.

Seifer was quiet for a while. He looked blankly back at Kairi until she turned away, embarrassed. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. She didn't like that. With Sora, you could always tell how he felt; he wore his emotions right on his sleeve. With Riku it was different, but she could always tell when something was up. Seifer wasn't like any of them. He could be thinking anything.

With a sigh, Seifer slipped his hand out from under Kairi's and stood up. Without a word, he shook out his trench coat and stretched. Kairi watched him, trying to figure out what might be going through his head. Seifer turned and began walking away from Kairi. He didn't look back, but instead raised a hand and waved it over his shoulder.

"Sure thing, whatever you say."

And then he was gone, heading up the stairs into Merlin's house. Kairi watched him go. One thing was certain, something was still upsetting him. Kairi turned back to her reflection in the water and shook her head. Why couldn't she figure out what it was though?

Seifer stepped onto the elevator and rose slowly up into Merlin's small home. The wizard had introduced himself earlier but now was nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it, the entire room was completely empty. The furniture was gone, the papers that littered the walls and floor had disappeared; the room was completely bare.

There was a rustling across the room and Seifer watched as Leon pushed aside the cloth that covered the entrance and stepped inside. He glanced at Seifer and then turned away and began walking around the raised platform. Seifer watched him without much interest. The older man seemed very stiff, rather morose. He hated people like that. He wanted to tell them to stop brooding and do something about whatever had them so damn unhappy.

Leon finally came to a stop in front of Seifer. He looked down at him and then pointedly at the floor beneath his feet.

"I'm going down," he said simply. Seifer felt his face grow red and he hopped to the side, off of the invisible elevator. "Thanks," Leon said and tapped his foot on the stone. Slowly, he began to lower down to the ground below.

Seifer watched him disappear and then, after a moment's thought, jumped down after him, landing lightly beside the man. Leon didn't flinch, or really make any motion that would show he had noticed his arrival. Seifer frowned and straightened up. The elevator slowly descended back into the underground caves. They were both quiet. Seifer wondered why he had jumped down after Leon.

The platform finally reached the bottom and Leon stepped off onto the damp stone. Seifer watched him for a moment and then hopped off to follow him. They moved slowly down the tunnel until they reached the room he had been sitting in a short while ago. Kairi was still sitting by the water with her knees drawn up against her. She turned to look at them when she heard footsteps.

"Ah, Leon!" she said with surprise. Then she noticed Seifer. "Oh! Seifer." She paused, unsure of what to say. Something about him made her uncomfortable. He was upset about something but she couldn't figure out what it was. She didn't like that.

"Kairi," Leon said simply, passing her and stepping into the shallow water. Seifer stopped at the edge of the water next to Kairi. He couldn't figure out why he had followed Leon. It was completely against his nature to do this sort of thing, especially after he had just walked out on Kairi. He spared a quick glance at the girl beside him. She was watching Leon silently. Movement out of the corner of his eye caused Seifer to turn back to Leon.

He was taking off his jacket, muscular arms becoming visible as he peeled the heavy cloth away. He was wearing a white undershirt and Seifer could pretty easily see muscles rippling underneath it. With a flick of his wrist, Leon threw his jacket back onto the stony shore and began walking out deeper into the water. His jeans slowly began to saturate with the river water until they were completely submerged.

Seifer watched as Leon sank deeper into the water. He was out far enough now that the water rose to his chest and he could see that the current out there was stronger than it was near the shore. He looks ridiculous, Seifer thought to himself. What the hell is he even doing? Finally Leon stopped. There was a long silence as the man stood in the water, his back to Seifer and Kairi. Again, Seifer wondered just what the hell he was doing out there.

Without warning, Leon began to move. Seifer couldn't figure out what was happening but he could tell Leon was doing something. The man spun against the current and his shoulders dropped. Seifer could see his muscles tightening and his face contort with concentration. Leon stopped for a second and then spun again, moving slowly toward shore and then backing up again. He rose up in the water and then fell back down, his chin touching the water before his arms flew up and out of the water.

A stream of water exploded up and out of the water's surface. Something silver and metallic glinted in the midst of the spray. Seifer squinted to see what it was that had caught his eye. Leon stopped moving with his arms held above his head. The last of the water fell and Seifer saw what it was that he had been looking at. In his hands, Leon held a long sword. In a simple motion, Leon brought the blade back down into the water but this time there was no splash at all as the sword pierced the water.

He was practicing swordplay under water! Seifer felt his jaw drop. He had only just recently began to use a real sword and he already knew how heavy it was. He could use it certainly, but a sword of that size and with the water resistance to boot…

Leon swirled forward and lifted one hand above his head while the other extended forward. Seifer recognized it as a thrust.

He could do it with one hand as well. Seifer was in awe. Leon utilized his sword so deftly and the strength required for this kind of training was incredible. He couldn't remove his eyes from the man as he continued to move beneath the water, occasionally bringing the sword above the surface before plunging it gracefully back into the water.

He was good.

Seifer could feel his fingers twitching, his body aching to try and copy the man's movements, to duplicate and learn until he could maneuver his own blade as deftly as Leon did. He stood there watching for an hour as Leon continued to strike and spin in the flowing river. As time progressed, Seifer wasn't surprised to see that the man's ability did not diminish as he grew tired. If anything, his movements almost became sharper. Seifer could see beads of sweat form on Leon's brow before falling in tiny rivulets and mixing with the water from the river.

Finally, Leon let out a long breath and, with aching muscles, sheathed his gunblade and began walking to shore. His whole body felt tired and he was cold. Aerith would yell at him about being reckless like this. It would be ok though. Any cold he got now would be gone by the time he got back to Hollow Bastion anyway. Besides, it felt good to be able to do some training back in the cavern again. When he reached the shore, he nodded to Kairi and grabbed his jacket from the cold stones.

"Hey."

Leon turned. Seifer was standing between the elevator and himself. He held his sword loosely in front of him. Leon automatically noted that his legs were too far apart.

"Whaddya say you and me go a round," Seifer said, barely containing his excitement. "Just for fun?"

Leon looked at him for a minute, confused. After a moment he sighed and shook his head. Drops of water fell from his bangs. Without a word he began walking toward the boy. Seifer cocked his head to one side but otherwise didn't react. When Leon was only a few feet away from the tip of his blade, he stopped and put his hands on his hips.

"Maybe another time." In a simple motion, he deftly sidestepped Seifer and passed him before he could react. Before Seifer could turn around, he was standing on the elevator. "Close up that stance and you'll be able to turn faster." Then he was gone, up in Merlin's room.

Seifer stared down where he had been for a moment and then straightened up, looking down at his own feet. "Huh. Good advice," he mumbled. A smiled split across his face. This is what he'd been hoping for, a mentor. So what if he was mopey, he was good.


	9. Misunderstanding

Short chapter. Also, I might be pandering to the critics a bit here, but _someone_ said that not enough was happening, and if there wasn't any action, there should be fluff to make up for it. Well…I was planning this anyway. So there.

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Chapter 9

Misunderstanding

"I don't think Leon would be willing to train you."

Seifer's face dropped. "Well why not?!" he spluttered. He had explained his new plan to Kairi very excitedly only a few moments ago. She had been very polite, listening quietly as he shouted excitedly about finding someone who could really teach him how to fight. It _was_ exciting. But now she was telling him it wouldn't work? What was her deal?

"Well Leon isn't that kind of person," Kairi said hesitantly, not entirely sure why she was so certain of this. "I mean…when he met Sora, he didn't offer…and Sora really could have used the practice."

"Enough about Sora!" Seifer shouted. "I'm not him, I'm me and I'm gonna get this guy to teach me!"

With that he turned and darted up to the elevator which had by now returned to the cavern. Kairi stood motionless for a moment, unsure of how to deal with Seifer's sudden excitement. He was going to be disappointed, she knew. It was inevitable. Leon wasn't going to teach him.

"Seifer, wait!" Kairi ran after him, leaping onto the elevator just as it began to rise. "It's not a question of who you are…Leon won't train anyone."

"And why not?" Seifer placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward, putting his face right in Kairi's. "What's keeping him from teaching a promising young man a few sword tricks?" Kairi sighed and lowered her head. She wasn't sure whether she liked this new energetic Seifer. 'He's as stubborn as always, only now he's louder about it,' she thought.

"Leon is…" Kairi paused, trying to figure out exactly what Leon was anyway. "He's a busy guy." She stopped again, trying to gather exactly what it was she wanted to say. The elevator continued to rise. "He's always working on something and if he's not, he's training himself. He doesn't spare a minute of the day. He wouldn't be able to fit in the time for you." She looked back up at Seifer. He wasn't backing down. She wasn't saying the right things…

"And…and he's just not that kind of person. He's very nice but…he can't focus his attention on one person like that…he doesn't have it in him, you know?" she finished weakly.

The elevator reached the top and Merlin's empty room now surrounded them. Seifer leaned back out of Kairi's face but made no movement otherwise. He looked at her for a while, thinking. Why was she trying so hard to dissuade him from this? What was the big deal? Even if she was right, why bother arguing this much about it?

With a sigh, Seifer ran a hand through his hair. "Look," he began in exasperation. "I'm not strong enough to protect you." He grimaced and looked away from Kairi. It hurt to say it out loud like that. "And until I feel that I can protect you…well I won't be satisfied until then."

Kairi felt her face flush. Seifer wanted to protect her? She turned away from him, glad that he wasn't watching her face continue to redden. Seifer hadn't said anything like this until now.

"You alright?"

Kairi jumped. Seifer had leaned over her shoulder and was now staring at her. With a squeal, she whirled around and pushed Seifer as hard as she could.

"What hell!?" Seifer stumbled back and landed on his rear with a thud.

"Why does everyone think I need to be protected!?" Kairi yelled. Her face was beet red with embarrassment and anger. She didn't know where it was coming from. Seifer had only made her kind of uncomfortable…so then she screamed at him? What's more, she realized, she really meant it too.

"Everyone acts like I'm some kind of helpless little girl that needs to be watched over all the time because she can't take care of herself!" She felt something well up in her eyes. It was true, all of it. All her life, people had wanted to watch over her…she felt so helpless. Now here she was on her first journey to set things right all by herself and some new guy was trying to look after her?

"Why doesn't anyone think I can take care of myself!" She was crying now. "I know I've screwed up before. I got kidnapped…I got saved…but why won't anyone give me a second chance!?" Tears rolled down her face now and her body was racked with sobs. "I'm so tired of being a burden on everyone…" she whimpered through the tears.

With a start, she felt something strong grab her wrist. Through tear-filled eyes she looked up to find Seifer standing very close in front of her. He was looking down at her with an expression she didn't recognize. His chin was shaking slightly from how tightly he held his jaw. He almost seemed angry…but his emerald eyes were soft when she looked into them. She could feel his grip on her wrist tightening until it was almost uncomfortable. Her chest pounded violently as he brought his other hand up and gently brushed a finger against her cheek.

"You're not a burden." When he spoke his voice was soft, almost a whisper, but it was stern as well, like he was reprimanding her. "Now I don't know anything about this kidnapping stuff you're talking about."

Kairi could feel his breath on her face. It smelled nice.

"But if you think for a second I'm looking after you because I 'have to,' you're dead wrong."

Slowly, so slowly that neither of them noticed, Seifer's head began to dip closer toward Kairi's.

"I've got my own reasons for wanting to protect you."

Their foreheads touched and two hearts beat in thunderous union.

"And if it bothers you so much…"

Trembling, Kairi felt his lips brush against hers as he spoke. A tingle of electricity shot down her spine.

"Then…"

The last words were lost entirely as their lips met completely. For a single moment, time stood still. Seifer could feel his heart pounding in his throat so violently he thought it might leap out. Kairi's lips felt soft against his. He wondered if her eyes were closed like his were. What had he been saying before…before…this? He couldn't remember. His whole body felt stiff and cold except for his face which was burning hotter than anything he'd ever felt in his life.

Kairi's eyes were still open, wider now than before. She couldn't figure out what was happening. She had just been crying and now…she could feel his lips on hers, could see his face so close, eyes closed and eyelashes…he had nice eyelashes. Long. There weren't any bangs to get in the way of them, like Sora's.

With a shuddering thud, Kairi felt her chest pound at the memory of Sora. Her arms shot out, pushing Seifer away, wrenching her arm from his grip. She spun and stumbled and fell to the ground, landing on her hands and knees. Seifer, in shock, fell back with a crash and landed once again on his back. His body felt tense and icy, a tingle of electricity still lingered on his lips where he had…

"Oh my god…" his throat closed up as he realized what he had just done. In a panic he scrambled backwards until he reached a wall of the small house. Supported now by the building, his hands shot to his mouth, covering it as though he could make it go away. "Oh…oh shit!" he whispered hoarsely, hating himself.

Kairi had recovered somewhat and was sitting up, one hand held up with the tips of her fingers pressed against her lips. She wasn't thinking clearly. She couldn't tell if she was thinking at all. Had that really just happened? Had Seifer just…

"Oh…oh my god," Seifer was stuttering now, his face flushed with embarrassment and anger at himself. "Kairi…I, I, I am so sorry." He wanted to smash his head on the stone floor. "I don't…I didn't mean to…I just…I didn't…I am _so _sorry."

Kairi knew that Seifer was saying something, but she couldn't hear him. Her mind was elsewhere. She could still feel the pressure on her lips; a lingering physical memory. Gradually, her body began to explain to her what had just happened, that Seifer really had just kissed her. Even as she digested the fact for what it was, she found it difficult to think about. Just how did she really feel about all of this? She wasn't really angry…certainly surprised. How did she really feel about this? How did she feel about Seifer? It was hard to say…

What would Sora think?

In a flash, Kairi recovered from her shock. "Sora!" she gasped.

"-I didn't mean to…" Seifer stopped when he realized Kairi had just said something. She looked surprised…almost scared. And what had she just said? "Er…what?"

Kairi's hand clapped over her mouth. Despite her confusion with the whole situation…she knew that it was definitely not a good time to bring up Sora. Slowly, she removed her hands from her mouth.

"Um…well…"

There was a rustle on the far side of the room that made Kairi and Seifer both jump.

"This place sure is hard to find." A cocky voice echoed through the room. Kairi gasped. "A door that you have to cast fire on…clever." Black leather robes swished against the stone floor as a tall man walked confidently into the room. "But not such a big deal for me."

Axel smiled at Kairi through the dimly lit room. "Long time no see, Kairi. Remember me?"


	10. Not Part of the Cavalry

A pretty action oriented chapter. I like Axel. Please enjoy and keep those reviews coming. They really help. For real.

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Chapter 10

Not Part of the Cavalry

The room was silent for a long time. Axel leaned casually against the doorway, smiling at Kairi pleasantly. Seifer, confused as he was by the intrusion, could not help but be somewhat relieved that the awful moment from earlier had now passed. He stared at the black robed man, trying to determine who he was.

After a while, Axel sighed. "Come on now, Kairi," he said with mock exasperation. "Did you _really_ forget my name? I specifically asked you if you had it memorized." He pushed off the wall and took a step into the room. "I don't do that just for fun, you know?" He leaned forward and tapped on the side of his head. "I do it so you remember."

Kairi remained silent, her muscles tense. How had he managed to find her? This wasn't good. He was blocking the only exit…and if they tried to use the elevator…well there was no way it would be fast enough. And Seifer probably didn't even realize the kind of danger they were in. Her eyes flicked to Seifer for a moment. If he found out that this guy was Axel…would he attack? He had been planning to earlier.

Axel saw Kairi glance to the side and followed her eyes. When he saw Seifer, he leaned back and scratched his head, acting like he hadn't seen him before.

"Oh? And who might this be?" he said with a chuckle. "You know, a boy and a girl alone in a dark room at your age…people might start to talk." He laughed, oblivious of the deep shades of red Seifer and Kairi were both turning. "Aw, I'm just teasing you," he said with a smile. "I know how it is." He put his hands together and made a silly face. "Your heart belongs to Sora already." He laughed again.

Seifer felt the bottom of his stomach drop away. He couldn't breathe right for a moment. Kairi was blushing furiously, but Seifer wouldn't look at her. He couldn't. It would kill him.

Axel stopped laughing and looked at the two of them. With a sigh he put his hands on his hips. "Oh come _on_. Would you two lighten up? I'm just teasing you." He shook his head. "Geez, hearts sure make you folk sensitive."

Seifer finally managed to calm down enough to think. This guy hadn't just stumbled in here. Taking a deep breath, Seifer stood up, brushing the dust off his pants. Quietly, he took a good look at the man in black. How could he have been so stupid? Full black robes, red hair, spiked back like fire?

"So you're Axel then?" he said softly.

Axel cocked his head to one side. "You've heard of me then?"

"Kairi mentioned a few things about you before." Slowly, Seifer drew his blade. The metallic rasp of the steel against the hilt hissed threateningly in the dead air.

"Oh?" Axel's eyes narrowed and a cold smile split across his face. "Good things I hope."

"Hardly."

Swallowing hard, Kairi managed to find her voice. "Seifer don't!"

But Seifer was already moving. He darted forward, crossing the room in a flash and thrusting out with his blade. Axel watched him come, keeping an eye on the sword as it flew toward his chest. At the last moment, he swayed to the side, letting the tip of the blade come within a hair's reach of his chest.

Seifer quickly stopped his thrust and withdrew, falling back into his guard. When he realized no attack was coming, he flicked out the blade once more, cutting down at Axel. Once more, Axel ducked under the oncoming weapon, spinning around Seifer and giving him a light shove before dancing away. Caught unawares, Seifer stumbled forward but caught himself quickly. When he looked up, Axel was standing in the middle of the room, bouncing lightly on his toes.

"So…you have a weapon or what?" Seifer said as he fell back into his stance.

"Why, am I going to need it?" Axel said with a wide grin.

Seifer paused for a moment, put off by the reply. But then, after only a second, he smiled widely. This was the repartee he'd been looking for in an opponent. He felt strangely elated.

"Why don't you tell me."

Then he was moving again, dashing in toward Axel, blade held low until it was scraping against the stone floor. When he was within striking distance, he brought the blade up and forward, cutting up toward Axel's face in a large, wide arc. Not even waiting, Axel sidestepped the oncoming blow.

Unable to contain his giddiness, Seifer felt a smile split across his face as he halted his forward movement, transferring his energy into a spin that kept him parallel to Axel. It was the first time he'd been able to use a feint against a skilled opponent like that. He brought the blade across his body, tearing out at Axel's torso.

With a little yelp, Axel ducked just in time to avoid the oncoming steel. Without waiting, Seifer danced back and then forward again, whipping the blade out at the unbalanced Nobody. Axel's eyes widened as he saw the sword aiming at him.

Unable to contain himself, Seifer smiled and yelled, "Gotcha!"

There was a fizz and suddenly Axel was gone. Seifer blinked and nearly fell over as his attack traveled through nothing. He caught himself before he fell over and quickly fell back into his stance, looking around wildly.

"Just for the record…"

Seifer jumped and wheeled around at the sound of Axel's voice only inches behind him.

"Warping is _not_ my weapon." Axel grinned pleasantly. "But congratulations on making me need to do that."

Seifer could feel the sweat on his brow as he swallowed hard. "Thanks." He didn't move this time, instead he slowly brought his feet closer together. It felt uncomfortable to be standing like that, but he stayed on his toes. "Y'know, I've been the one coming at you all this time. Howsabout we switch it up, eh?"

Axel cocked his head to one side and rubbed his chin in thought. After a moment he shrugged. "Alright I guess."

Seifer watched as Axel took a step forward. Then another. He watched as Axel's shoulders lowered. He dashed forward, his arms trailing behind him. Seifer watched him come, his eyes facing straight ahead. Axel was within striking distance now, but the man hadn't made any motion to attack.

He's faking it, Seifer realized.

He was close now, close enough to hit him. Seifer leaned forward, lowering the blade. It was a gamble.

There was a fizz.

He was right!

Seifer whirled around, arm extended, blade whistling through the air. He was turning faster now, faster than he ever had. Leon had been right. A closed stance really did help.

As he had thought, Axel was standing right behind him, fist raised. But now, Seifer could see, his eyes were wide open in shock.

Of course he can't teleport again so quickly, there had to be limits, Seifer thought triumphantly. I got him this time.

There was a flash of light and fire and Seifer felt his arm shudder as his sword crashed against metal. Flames erupted from the clash and Seifer hurled himself away from the explosion. His vision was spotty from the intense light that had almost blinded him. He shook his head to clear it and when he looked back at Axel, there was no more fire.

"Well done…" Axel said in a low voice. "I didn't think I'd need to bring these out against a kid like you."

Seifer could see what he was talking about. In each of Axel's hands, he held a circular, dangerous looking disc. The edges looked sharp and there were frightening looking spikes protruding from the center.

"The hell are those?" Seifer asked.

"Chakram," Axel said simply. "My weapons." The way he was speaking now was different than before. The mirth was gone from his voice and Seifer felt cold without reason. "Here, check 'em out."

In a blur of movement, Axel flicked his wrists forward and sent the two weapons spinning toward Seifer. Caught unawares by the projectile, Seifer wasn't able to move in time as the sharp spikes embedded themselves in his right arm, knocking him backwards. His back arched as he fell and he screamed in pain.

Both chakram had pierced through his upper arm and two sharp spikes were now rooted deep in his flesh. As he hit the ground he could feel the warm metal move inside of him, every shake sending fiery tendrils of pain arcing into his brain. Desperately he tried to steady himself, lifting himself onto his knees and gasping for breath in-between shortened yelps of agony.

"Seifer!"

Kairi's voice was far away. The room was spinning as he painfully pushed himself to his feet, supporting himself on the wall. Biting his lip until he could feel blood, he took a deep breath and tried to block out the pain. Wincing, he looked up at Axel who was still standing in the middle of the room.

"That's…ungh…that's not fair now is it," he said hoarsely. "You didn't tell me these things were projectiles."

Axel raised an eyebrow in surprise. "No I guess not."

Seifer swallowed hard, sweating profusely from the pain in his arm. He noticed with some pride that he had managed to hold onto his sword throughout the ordeal. Steeling himself, he reached up with his free hand and took hold of one of the chakram. With a scream, he yanked it from his arm. The room spun and he felt like he might black out but he took a deep breath and willed himself to stay standing. Then he reached up and did it again.

This time he nearly did fall over, finally he managed to swallow his screams and try to ignore the pain. He straightened up, wincing and biting his lip again.

"But here's the thing now, Axel," Seifer said with a forced smile. "Now you've got no weapon."

"Oh yeah…" Axel frowned slightly. "There was something else I didn't mention."

There was a flash of light and suddenly the hand Seifer was holding the chakram in burst into flames. The fire seared his skin and with a scream he dropped the flaming weapons. They fell and then stopped, floating a foot off the ground before zooming back towards Axel who caught them with ease.

"Look," Axel said with a sigh. "It's been fun, really. But I got other things to do. So let's make this quick, yeah?"

Seifer could barely stand now. His right arm was bleeding heavily and his left hand was burnt badly. His breath was coming in quick gasps now.

"See ya."

Axel reared back and flung his chakram forward again. They were aimed now for Seifer's head. He couldn't move, he couldn't do anything about it.

"Shit…"

"SEIFER!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Seifer saw a tiny metallic glint whizz through the doorway. There were two loud pings and Seifer saw the chakram suddenly change direction. Two sharp metal stars ricocheted into the ground at Seifer's feet as the chakram crashed into the wall inches from his head. Across the room, Leon burst in through the doorway.

"Good shot, Yuffie!"

The little ninja girl bounded through the doorway after Leon with a grin. "Thanks, now let's kick some Organization butt!"


	11. Responsibility

Has it really been a year since I updated this? Seriously? Wow. Doesn't feel like it. That's nuts. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Kinda sad. Let's see where it takes us.

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Chapter 11

Responsibility

Seifer stared in disbelief at the doorway. Leon held his sword at the ready, watching Axel carefully. Beside him a girl, probably not much older than Seifer, bobbed and weaved, twirling something sharp and metallic between her fingers. Axel frowned deeply.

"Geez…this is certainly more than I bargained for," he said with a sigh. Beside Seifer's head, the two chakram flashed and reappeared in Axel's hands. "I didn't really want any trouble here."

"Shut it, bonfire-head!" Yuffie shouted as she leaped forward, sharp metal stars flying from her fingertips.

"Hey now!" Axel shouted as he deflected the metal stars and danced away from the charging ninja. "The names Axel, ok?" He blurred for a moment and then disappeared entirely.

"Yuffie!" Leon darted forward as Axel materialized behind the girl, chakram raised high. Yuffie seemed to turn in slow motion as Axel's weapons came down on her head. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. She looked like she was about to scream when suddenly, she stuck her tongue out.

"Nyah!"

Axel's chakram pierced her forehead and Seifer felt his blood run cold. But barely a second later, there was a burst of smoke and Axel looked down in bewilderment. Before the smoke could clear, Leon rushed in and whipped out his blade right at Axel. The fiery headed nobody sneered and ducked, leaping through the smoke and landing on the other side of the room. He rolled and jumped up to his feet, glaring back at the smoke as it disappeared.

Seifer followed his gaze and was surprised to see that Yuffie wasn't to be found at the center of the dissipating cloud. Instead, a medium sized log lay on the floor with both Axel's chakram embedded deep inside it.

"Gotcha!"

There was another puff of smoke and a flurry of movement. When Seifer looked toward it, he saw Yuffie standing on stop of Axel, holding his arm and pinning him firmly to the ground. "How's that, bonfire-head?" she yelled triumphantly.

Axel was quiet for a few moments, not struggling at all. After a moment, he turned his head slightly and looked up at the young ninja. "It's Axel…not bonfire head or whatever."

Seifer noticed that he sweat was beginning to form on his brow. Leon noticed the same thing at the same moment and began to dash forward.

"It's Axel…got it memorized?"

"YUFFIE!"

Leon flew forward, tacking Yuffie off of Axel just as an enormous pillar of flame burst up from the ground around him. Leon and Yuffie crashed to the floor and rolled until they were stopped by a wall. Seifer watched the pillar of flame with wide eyes. The heat from the flames washed over his body and he felt faint, but he watched anyway. Finally, the intensity began to wear down and the fire disappeared.

"I don't know about all of you…but I've had enough for now, yeah?" Axel stood with his arms crossed in the center of the room where the flames had risen. "This really is too much trouble right now." He snapped his fingers and the chakram flashed and reappeared in his hands. "See ya later, Kairi. Don't forget about me now!"

A plume of deep purple smoke exploded out from the ground right behind Axel. With a smile, he leaned back and fell through the portal which closed immediately behind him. Seifer watched the place where Axel had stood for some time as silence reigned over the room. He felt dazed. Everything that had just happened was rushing around in his head and wasn't giving him a moments peace. He couldn't register all of it. It was just too much.

He could hear a sound off to his right. Quick breaths and sniffling…someone was crying. He turned his head to see Kairi huddled in a ball, her arms wrapped tightly around her drawn-up knees. She was shaking. Seifer felt his body go cold. It was a pathetic sight and he wanted so badly to do or say something to help but his brain wouldn't let him think straight.

"Is everything ok in here?" Seifer heard a woman's voice from outside.

"Not quite…" Leon responded. Seifer turned to see that he was bent over Yuffie who was laying on the ground, clutching her own arm. "Yuffie got a pretty bad burn, and Seifer here got torn up pretty bad."

"Alright…let me see." A woman stepped gracefully into the room. Her long brown hair flowed gracefully behind her. "Oh dear…" she whispered when she surveyed the room. Without hesitating, she made a bee-line for Yuffie. "Ok Yuffie…let go of your arm for me. Let me see how bad it is."

Yuffie whimpered and let go of her burned arm. It didn't look terrible, but Yuffie's expression was enough to tell the truth of the wound.

"Hmm…" the woman mumbled to herself. Then, she placed her hands over Yuffie's arm. "Cura."

A soft green and gold light grew out around the woman's hands and Yuffie's expression slowly changed to that of relief. When the light faded, Yuffie looked relaxed, and thankful.

"Thanks Aerith!" Yuffie beamed.

"Of course," Aerith smiled. Then, without a moments hesitation, the woman was up and walking toward Seifer. She stopped in front of him and kneeled down. "My name's Aerith, let me take a look at you." He nodded, wincing as her hands carefully probed his wounds. "What's your name?"

"Seifer," he stuttered through the pain.

"Can you show me your hands, Seifer?"

Slowly, he tried to turn his palms up, but a wave of pain arced up his arms and he screamed.

"Stay still, shhhhhh. It's alright." Aerith grimaced. "I'll get you fixed up." She held out her hands over his and closed her eyes. "You got burned pretty badly…don't worry though."

Seifer watched her carefully. He could feel a breeze on his fingers and when he looked down he saw a faint green glow. The glow covered his hands and traveled up his arms, covering his shoulder and chest. The light felt comforting, and he could tell it was seeping into him.

"Cura."

The light brightened and Seifer's body began to feel warm and light. He looked down and saw the burns on his hands disappearing. After a few seconds, they were gone completely. He flexed his fingers, testing them. Sure enough, they didn't hurt at all.

"How's your shoulder?" Aerith asked.

"Huh?" Seifer replied. Then he remembered, he'd been stabbed in the shoulder with Axel's weapons. He shrugged. "Fine. Wow. Yeah, fine." He swung his arm around in a circle. "Yeah it's great, thank you."

"No problem," Aerith said with a smile. She turned and scanned the room again. "Oh, Kairi!"

Kairi was standing. Her face was red and her eyes looked strained. Tears were streaking down her face. She was shaking slightly. Her mind was racing. Everything was spinning around her. Everything that had just happened was a blur, some terrible dream. It wasn't real. Couldn't be real…but it was.

"It's nice to see you again, Kairi," Aerith said slowly. She could sense the situation. She hoped Yuffie would remain quiet. Kairi was in a very bad place right now.

"This is all my fault," Kairi whispered.

"That's not true," Aerith said calmly.

I was supposed to say that, Seifer thought to himself. He was supposed to say it wasn't her fault. Hell, right before I kissed her, she had been saying how much of a burden she was on everybody, he thought. He could hardly imagine the sort of things she must be thinking now.

"No one would have gotten hurt if it wasn't for me," Kairi said with a hollow voice.

"That's not true, Kairi," Aerith whispered.

"If…if I hadn't been here, Yuffie wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"That's not how it works."

"If Seifer wasn't protecting me, he wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Kairi it's not like that."

"Sora wouldn't be lost somewhere, neither would Riku. They'd be safe back home on the Destiny Islands."

"Kairi…"

"None of this would happen if I didn't exist," Kairi said, as though coming to some sort of conclusion.

"Kairi that's not true!" Aerith said firmly.

"Isn't it though!" Kairi screamed. Tears burst from her red eyes. "Everywhere I go, someone is always trying to use me or something. All just because I'm a princess! And people get hurt!" She knelt down and hugged herself, sobbing loudly. "People always get hurt because of me! Protecting me! Rescuing me! Sora turned into a heartless because of me! What if he hadn't turned back? What if Riku is lost forever? What if Axel had killed Seifer? And what if no one had rescued me before? The whole universe would have been lost to the darkness!"

She was shrieking now. No one dared to say anything. Leon knew that what she was saying was true. Because she's a princess, her destiny is interwoven with hardship. He was no stranger to that sense of despair. He had given up his name to escape the sense of responsibility.

Aerith understood. She could feel Kairi's sadness. She was blaming herself for everything. There was nothing she could say. Kairi was right, but that didn't make it her fault. If only she could convince Kairi of that. But the words wouldn't come.

And Seifer was lost. He had no idea Kairi kept these sort of feelings inside. The sort of hardship she must have been through. And she really was a princess, she hadn't been lying after all. But what the hell was he supposed to do? What the hell could he say? She blamed herself for all those things, and everyone who protects her gets hurt, and she can't take it. But if no one does, the whole universe is at stake. And she's been smiling the whole damn time. He wanted to say he'd always be there for her, that he'd protect her; that he'd die for her, and he was sure Riku and Sora felt the same way…but that wasn't what she wanted to hear. There was nothing anyone could say.

"I…wish that I was…" she stopped and then shook her head. "I want to be alone."

"Alright," Leon said firmly. He strode across the room and stood on the elevator. "C'mon." He motioned toward everyone else. Yuffie looked nervously at Kairi and then nodded. Aerith bit her lower lip and then followed. Seifer said nothing, but walked with heavy steps over to Leon.

"We'll be downstairs. Take as much time as you need," Leon said as the elevator began to lower.

Kairi said nothing.


End file.
